The web is a delivery system for electronic services together with the services that are delivered. The dominant services are online transactions and dissemination of institutional information. Common transactions are ecommerce activities like payment of fees and online registration. Institutional information examples include publicity, marketing, program description, announcements of activities, employment opportunities and deadlines, calendars and schedules, policy, and instructional content. The delivery system, as well as the services delivered, must be accessible in a healthy web environment.
Anyone who delivers a service via the Web is accountable for the accessibility of that service. Since most services are provided by many people acting in many roles, the professional responsibilities will change from role to role. Supervisors must ensure sound practice is followed in providing services. Web developers will be responsible for implementing a delivery infrastructure that provides accessible use of the services. People who develop the actual content of the services must employ a workflow that ensures these services can be presented using accessible technologies. Regardless of role, everyone involved in providing services on the web must learn accessibility and apply it to their own role.
Everyone needs to understand the standards and law. Supervisors manage the accountability environment to ensure standards and laws are being met. Web developers must understand how specific techniques addressed by standards and law can erect or remove barriers to access. Content developers must learn to author content that avoids the access barriers identified by the standards and law. All these activities require knowledge of standards and law.
Literally survey your own website. There are many programs that simulate conditions like partial sight and color blindness. Try some of them. Also, use at least one assistive technology like Home Page Reader or JAWS.
Here are some quick and easy things to try.
Perception: Pick a PDF document that you need to read. Load the document in Acrobat or the Acrobat Reader and reduce size (using zoom) to 25%. Read ten pages.
Operability: A quick operability check is to run your browser at about 1/4 the normal screen size. That is, do not run it maximized but reduce the window size to 1/4 of your monitor size. Pick a large font. Note: make it reasonably large, but not crazy large. Then just do your normal activities for about one half hour. You should have no difficulty actually seeing the material, but you will have a hard time navigating the document. Multi column documents will require horizontal scrolling. Try to read the website for your local newspaper. Read at least one full article. Look at a site with big data tables or maps. Another operability check is to try and order something on line without using the mouse. That is, just use the keyboard. Purchase an airline ticket, a book or make a reservation.
Understandability: To check your institutional website try the following: Look at pages outside of your home unit. Can you follow their jargon? Can you find people, places and things? Do you have a good idea of where you are located within the website at any given time within your Web? If you reduce your browser to 1/4 screen size is the site still easy to follow. Is it still understandable if you try to read it using Home Page Reader or JAWS.
Robustness: The best way to experience issues of robustness is to use Home Page Reader or JAWS with the screen turned off or view your site on a web enabled cell phone. Another nice test is to go home and try connecting using just a phone hook up.
Employ user centered design. Use well tested design tools like personas, key path scenarios, story boards, and design frameworks.
Use best practice techniques from software engineering. A web is a significant software enterprise and it requires the same production steps as other large software projects.
When coding use the most current Technical Standards. Follow the letter and spirit of accessibility standards and law.
Design and develop with accessibility in mind. Never treat accessibility as a separate task that can be addressed after other issues have been satisfied.
Retrofitting is the most expensive development activity. Using inaccessible technology places the University at risk from litigation. So the cost of retrofitting must always be considered when developing or purchasing inaccessible web materials. Avoiding a retrofit is usually cheaper.
Not everything can be rebuilt or repurchased new. Since retrofitting is extremely difficult and costly, best practice is an impractical goal. The institution should simply obey the law.
There is no real conflict between beauty, usability and accessibility for users with disabilities. A web sight should be pleasing and usable. It is a good idea to imagine the aesthetic appeal of a site in several modalities.
Every web project must employ user consultation. That includes new development and retrofitting. A failure to include users will probably lead to a failure of users to accept your site. To ensure accessibility always include subjects with disabilities.
Even if your medium is visual art, blind people will probably need to use your site at some time. In a large institution, access by people with disabilities is much more probable than not. So, just be prepared.