Accessibility/Usability

The Internet is accessed at different screen resolutions, by different operating systems, by different access devices, and by people with various disabilities. While Web pages probably can't be built to display perfectly via every method of access, initiatives to comply with accessibility recommendations make our pages fundamentally better.

Web accessibility issues are increasingly being addressed by law. Section 508 of the Workforce Rehabilitation Act requires federal agencies to have accessible Web sites. In addition, provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act may be applicable to Web sites.

Much more information on accessibility and usability can be found in the Accessibility/Usability Resources.

Accessibility/Usability Tips
  • Produce well-organized content and a logical navigation structure.
  • Produce clean, well-structured HTML. Don't rely solely on code produced by a wysiwyg editor.
  • Validate your HTML — check your code with a validator such as the World Wide Web Consortium's HTML Validation Service. Validated code generally requires little modification for accessibility.
  • Validate for accessibility — check your code with a tool such as the "Bobby" Accessibility Validator, which identifies specific accessibility concerns.
  • Use templates — construct a well-organized, validated template as the foundation for your entire site. Designers are encouraged to use the UA Web Templates.
  • Test your pages in different ways — at different screen resolutions, on different browsers, at different window sizes, and on various browser accessibility settings.

Specific recommendations supported by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative include:

  • Provide text equivalents for all non-text elements. Using "alt" text for all graphics and image map hotspots, and "longdesc" for longer descriptions, is probably the single most important (and easy) accessibility measure.
  • Use clear, consistent navigation and links. Use descriptive text for hyperlinks as opposed to "click here" or similar.
  • Use a consistent page structure, using cascading style sheets (CSS) for layout and style where possible. However, ensure that pages are legible with CSS disabled.
  • Not all users can distinguish between colors, so don't use color to convey exclusive meaning. For example, avoid designing a form where "required fields are indicated by red type," and avoid presenting non-underlined links, identifiable by color only, within a body of text.
  • When using frames, provide a title for each frame. Better yet, avoid frames entirely.
  • Avoid causing the screen to flicker. Avoid moving, blinking, and scrolling text.

Top of Page

Creating Text-Only Versions Dynamically

The University of Alabama utilizes the Usablenet Assistive web accessibility platform to improve web accessibility, compliance, and support for people with disabilities including users of assistive technologies, such as blind people using screen-reading devices.

This software is licensed for use by all sites in the UA.edu domain, and it is strongly recommended that all official and unofficial UA web sites utilize this text-only capability in order to ensure maximum accessibility for our visitors and ease of use for all users who desire simplified navigation of our sites.

To learn more about dynamically generating text-only versions of your web site, please visit the Usablenet Assistive resource page.

Top of Page

Text or Graphics?

Pictures are worth a thousand words in more ways than one. In the traditional sense, a meaningful photograph or graphic provides a clear connotation that would require many words to duplicate. However, an impact on page loading time far greater than a text equivalent calls for careful consideration as to the number and size of images to be displayed on a Web page.

Designers are encouraged to favor text over graphics in applications where graphics afford no real benefit to the user for the following reasons — and remember to present a meaningful "alt" text attribute to every graphic:

  • Faster page loads.
  • Better performance with search engines.
  • Accessible to a greater number of users.
  • Can usually be resized in the browser.
  • Lower server disk space requirements.
  • Users can cut and paste.
  • Easier to edit and maintain.

Top of Page

Text, Links, and Colors

Designers are encouraged to use a white background with dark colored text to promote readability. Dark backgrounds with reversed text can be difficult to read, particularly a large body of text, both on-screen and after being printed.

Don't use underlines in Web pages, as they can be mistaken for links. Instead use bold for emphasis.

Top of Page

Frames

Frame pages display two or more Web pages at the same time. Although frames can be beneficial in some situations, the disadvantages are many and overwhelming:

  • Frames pages undermine the fundamental Web theory of a body of individual pages associated through hyperlinks.
  • Individual pages are difficult to link to, and may be rendered as disjointed or unusable in the absence of frames intended to accompany.
  • Links from search engines or other sites may link to the "content" frame while omitting the "navigation" frame that often includes the site's branding.
  • Search engines often will not index frames pages.
  • Frames pages can subvert attempts to print a page.
  • Frames pages can subvert access via alternative devices.

Designers are encouraged to avoid frames. A good alternative is to use templates to hold the navigation for multiple pages.

Top of Page