The last couple years for me has been about getting my webskills up to par re xhtml and css. Though I can’t say I’m one of the experts, I’ve certainly developed more than enough competency to do whatever I need to do with xhtml/css in a reasonable amount of time, sometimes from scratch, sometimes using “canned” code from one of the experts. That journey will continue, but it’s time to add some more tools to the toolbox. Standards compliance was the first step, it’s time to take the next step– Accessibility.

This is why I started the Refresh DelVal group, which is in its infancy (one member- me.) In looking to begin to evaluate my own sites, all of which are already at least partway, if not most of the way to being accessible, I found a great article on how to evaluate a website for Accessibility by Roger Johansson on his 456 Berea St. site.

Am I there? Not yet. But I’m not doing all that badly either. My sites are already 80% more accessible than the majority of sites on the web, just by being standards compliant, and by not using fixed pixel or point font sizes nor tables for layout.

Why is this all so important? Well, first of all, why should any webmaster want to withhold the ability to view(or otherwise access the information on) a site from any potential audience member? Secondly, in many places it’s the law. Thirdly, if an organization depends on federal or state government for any part of its funding, a lack of accessibility on their website could jeopardize that funding. There are other reasons, but those are definitely the high points.

Is your website accessible?

Technorati Tags: xhtml/css, Standards compliance, Accessibility, Refresh

This entry was posted on Friday, March 10th, 2006 at 6:23 pmunder Web Design and . Comment RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.