Making the Web Accessible For All

Nearly 15 percent of the world population has some sort of disability, a physical condition that limit an Individual’s ability to perform certain tasks. The U.S. Congress passed the Rehabilitation Act in 1973, which prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities. In 1998, Congress amended this act to reflect the latest changes in information technology. Section 508  that any electronic information developed, procured, maintained, or used by the federal government be accessible to people with disabilities. Disabilities that inhibit a person’s ability to use the web fall into four (4) main categories: 1) visual, 2) hearing, 3) motor, and 4) cognitive.

This amendment has had a profound effect on how webpages are designed and developed. Although Section 508 is specific to websites created and maintained by the federal government, all competent web developers should adhere to the Section 508 guidelines. It is important to include everyone as a potential user of your website, including those with disabilities. To ignore the needs of nearly 15 percent of our population is just poor practice. However, some portions of Section 508 are not supported by HTML 5. For example, longdesc (§ 1194.22a) and frames(§ 1194.22i) are no longer supported by HTML 5. A web developer would not use those elements, which renders those Section 508 requirements null.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) sponsors its own initiative, called The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) that develops guidelines and support materials for Web accessibility standards. These guidelines known as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCSG) Cover many of the same issues defined in section 508 rules and expand on them relative to the superior website design.