- From: Wendy A Chisholm <chisholm@trace.wisc.edu>
- Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 16:23:21 -0600
- To: w3c-wai-ua@w3.org
Make sure pages transform gracefully across users, technologies, and situations By following these guidelines, you can author pages that "transform gracefully". This means that they will be accessible despite user, technological, or situational constraints. If your pages transform gracefully, they will be more readily accessible to users with blindness, deafness, motor limitations, and other disabilities. At the same time, users limited by technological barriers such as an old browsers, small screen, low-bandwidth Internet connection, handheld device, etc. will be able to use them. Users who are driving or involved in other activities where their hands, eyes, or ears are busy will also be able to use your pages. Here are some general tips on how to author pages that transform gracefully: 1. Always separate the content on your site (what you say), and the way you choose to structure that content (how you organize it), from the way the content and structure are presented (visually aurally, or tactilely). If the content is sensory-specific, such as audio or video, make it available in an alternative form as well that allows presentation for other senses. 2. Textual information is generally available to all users and browsing devices. 3. Ensure that no part of your document may be used or perceived with one sense only (i.e., only visually, only aurally, etc.) This does not mean creating an entire auditory version of your site. Screen readers will be able to speak all information on a page as long as it is available in text. 4. Ensure that no part of your document or site relies on one type of hardware. Pages should be usable by people without mice, with small screens, low resolution screens, black and white screens, no screens, with only voice or text output, etc.
Received on Wednesday, 24 February 1999 17:26:52 UTC