universal access

What is Accessibility?

An accessible web site is one that utilizes web standards and guidelines in order to make the site easier to use for people with disabilities. The disability most commonly associated with accessibility is blindness but accessibility also extends to users with hearing, mobility and even cognitive impairments.

Why Support Accessibility?

In our opinion, the question should be why not? The number of disabled computer users worldwide is vast but that is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of who can benefit from accessibility. Sites that follow accessible standards and guidelines benefit everyone through better content organization, navigation, and search engine optimization, just to name a few.

What Makes this Site Accessible?

We follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines published by the W3C and Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as working with our peers and disabled users, to ensure our site is as accessible as possible. Here are a few key features we utilize:

Valid XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS 2.0

Valid markup is important because it offers better compatibility between operating systems and web browsers. It is also forward-compatible allowing for easier maintenance and updates, and any page errors are easier to find and resolve.

Non-Intrusive Client Side Scripts

We use JavaScript on this site for various purposes including contact form validation, and bigger, easier to read, titles for acronym and abbreviation tags. However, if users have JavaScript disabled the site continues to function normally with no adverse side effects.

Skip Navigation Functionality

Skipping the navigation allows keyboard or screen reader users to avoid having to read through the navigation every time they visit a new page. By selecting the Skip Search and Navigation link a user can jump directly to the main content of the page. Screen reader users can also use the document structure to quickly scan a page by jumping between the main elements of the content.

Appropriate Title and Alt Tags

Appropriate tagging benefits both visually impaired users and search engine optimization. Title tags on acronyms, abbreviations and links offer more descriptive text about the content much like a footnote on a printed page. Alternative text tags or long description links on images fully describe what the contents of the image depict.

Labeled Input Elements on Forms

Labeling input elements directly connects the label with the correct input. This allows for quick keyboard access to complex forms that may otherwise be unusable for people with vision or mobility impairments.

High Contrast Colors

The contrast between foreground and background colors is very important for users with vision problems. Sufficiently high contrast ensures that users with color blindness, low vision and other vision impairments can easily read all the content available on the site.