Overview of the Web Accessibility Initiative
NOTE: These slides were last updated in 2005. Some of the information is out of date. Updated information is avalable from the WAI home page www.w3.org/WAI/
This presentation covers:
- What is Web accessibility?
- Why is Web accessibility important for people with and
without disabilities?
- What is the World Wide Web Consortium doing to address Web
accessibility?
- What resources are available to help make Web sites and Web
applications accessible?
- What actions are useful in promoting Web accessibility?
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Comments are welcome at wai-eo-editors@w3.org.
By Judy Brewer and Participants
of the
Education and Outreach Working Group.
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What is Web Accessibility?
Web accessibility means access to the Web by everyone, regardless of
disability.
Web accessibility includes:
- Web sites and applications
- that people with disabilities can perceive, understand,
navigate, and interact with;
- Web browsers and media players
- that can be used effectively by people with
disabilities, and
- that work well with assistive technologies that some
people with disabilities use to access the Web;
- Web authoring tools, and evolving Web technologies
- that support production of accessible Web content and
Web sites, and
- that can be used effectively by people with
disabilities.
Why is Web Accessibility an Issue?
There are several reasons why Web accessibility is important:
- use of the Web has spread into all areas of
society;
- there are barriers on the Web for many types of
disabilities;
- millions of people have disabilities that affect access to
the Web;
- some Web sites are required to be accessible;
- Web accessibility also has carry-over benefits for other
users.
The next slides explore these reasons in more detail.
Impact of the Web on People with Disabilities
- The Web has become a key resource for:
- news, information, commerce, entertainment,
- classroom education, distance learning,
- job searching, workplace interaction,
- civic participation, government services.
- It is displacing traditional sources of information and
interaction --
- schools, libraries, print materials, discourse of the
workplace;
- some of the traditional resources were accessible; some
not.
- An accessible Web means unprecedented access to information
for people with disabilities.
Web Accessibility is a Cross-Disability Issue
Examples of design requirements for people with different
kinds of
disabilities include:
- Visual:
- described graphics or video;
- well marked-up tables or frames;
- keyboard support, screen reader compatibility;
- Hearing:
- captioning for audio, supplemental illustration;
- Physical, Speech:
- keyboard or single-switch support;
- alternatives for speech input on voice portals;
- Cognitive, Neurological:
- consistent navigation, appropriate language level;
- illustration; no flickering or strobing designs.
Web Accessibility is a Marketplace Issue
- At least 10% of the population in most countries has
disabilities;
- visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and
neurological disabilities can all affect access to the Web
- Average age of population in many countries is increasing;
- aging sometimes results in combinations of
accessibility issues;
- vision & hearing changes, changes in dexterity
& memory.
- Few organizations can afford to deliberately miss this
market sector.
Accessibility Contributes to Universal Design (Design for All)
Accessible Web design contributes to better design for other
users:
- Multi-modality (support for visual, auditory, tactile
access) benefits users of:
- mobile phones with small display screens, Web-TV,
kiosks.
- Multi-modality increases usability of Web sites in
different situations:
- low bandwidth (images are slow to download);
- noisy environments (difficult to hear the audio);
- screen-glare (difficult to see the screen);
- driving (eyes and hands are "busy").
- Redundant text/audio/video can support:
- different learning styles; low literacy levels;
second-language access.
- Style sheets can support:
- more efficient page transmission and site maintenance.
- Captioning of audio files supports:
- better machine indexing of content; faster searching of
content.
Web Accessibility is Sometimes a Requirement
A number of governments require accessibility of specific
kinds of Web
sites.
- often required for government Web sites first;
- sometimes for educational or commercial sites;
- provinces, states, municipalities may have requirements;
- corporations and non-governmental organizations sometimes
set own requirements.
Information on requirements in different countries is
available in Policies
Relating to Web
Accessibility
W3C Plays Leading Role in Development of Web Technologies
- The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
- W3C operates from three host sites:
W3C Hosts the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
- The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI):
- coordinates with all the other domains of the W3C;
- operates internationally in all three host sites of W3C.
- WAI is sponsored
by a variety of government and industry supporters of accessibility:
WAI Uses A Partnership Approach
- Many organizations from around the world participate in
WAI work, including:
- industry,
- disability organizations,
- accessibility research centers,
- government,
- schools and universities,
- and more.
- WAI enables representatives from these different
constituencies to:
- work together at the design stage of key Web
technologies
- develop accessibility solutions by consensus
under W3C
Process.
- This process includes:
- collaborative development in W3C working groups;
- extensive opportunities for public comment.
Five Complementary Strategies for WAI Work
Because Web accessibility is a problem on many levels, WAI has
five levels
of work:
- ensuring that Web technologies support accessibility
- developing guidelines for accessibility
- improving tools to evaluate and repair Web accessibility
- developing materials for education and outreach
- coordinating with research and development
The next slides explore these five areas of work.
1. Ensuring that Web Technologies Support Accessibility
The Protocols and Formats
Working Group:
- Ensures that W3C technologies support Web accessibility
- Reviews W3C specifications
- at or before Last Call Working Draft stage
- many technical experts from W3C working groups
participate
- Produces requirements statements and review comments
- Is developing WAI-ARIA
2. Developing Guidelines for Accessibility
Guidelines play a critical role in making the Web accessible, by
explaining:
- how to create accessible Web content
- how to design software that supports production of
accessible Web sites
- how to design accessible browsers, and authoring tools
WAI has three different guidelines to address these different needs:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Note: WCAG 2.0 was published in December 2008, and is recommended over WCAG 1.0. See Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview.
We will soon update these slides to reflect this change.
The Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
- were developed by the Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (WCAG WG)
- became a W3C Recommendation 5 May 1999
- explain how to make accessible Web sites
- contain general guidelines
- have three priority levels of normative checkpoints
- have extensive supporting resources (see next slide)
The WCAG WG is currently developing an advanced version (WCAG
2.0), however:
- WCAG 1.0 remains the stable and referenceable version
Note: WCAG 2.0 was published in December 2008, and is recommended over WCAG 1.0. See Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview.
We will soon update these slides to reflect this change.
Supporting Resources for WCAG
There are extensive implementation support resources for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG),
including:
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines
The Authoring
Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0:
- were developed by the Authoring
Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AUWG)
- became a W3C Recommendation 3 February 2000;
- address software used to build Web sites, including:
- WYSIWYG editors;
- conversion tools (word processors, presentation
software);
- tools that dynamically generate Web pages from
databases;
- image editors, site management tools;
- address issues including:
- creation of valid content;
- strategies for prompting, alerting, help, validation;
- accessibility of the user interface
The AUWG is currently working on an advanced version, ATAG
2.0.
Supporting Resources for ATAG 1.0
Implementation support resources for ATAG 1.0 include:
User Agent Accessibility Guidelines
- The User
Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (UAAG 1.0):
- were developed by the User Agent Accessibility
Guidelines Working Group (UAWG);
- became a W3C Recommendation on 17 December 2002;
- address applications including:
- browsers,
- multimedia players,
- and their interoperability with assistive
technologies;
- address issues including:
- accessibility of the user interface,
- rendering of accessibility information,
- user control of the software;
- contain general guidelines;
- have three priority levels of normative checkpoints;
- have extensive supporting resources (see next slide).
Supporting Resources for UAAG 1.0
There are extensive implementation support resources for UAAG 1.0:
3. Developing Tools to Evaluate & Repair Accessibility
4. Conducting Education & Outreach
5. Monitoring Research & Development
The Research and Development
Interest Group
- holds teleconference seminars on different topics in Web
R&D, such as:
- identifies potential research topics
- and posts them for public interest
Participation Opportunities in WAI
- WAI
Working Groups & Interest Groups operate under W3C process.
- Work
takes place via e-mail lists, the Web, telephone, and
face-to-face meetings.
- Working Groups and Interest Groups include representatives
from:
- W3C Member organizations;
- Invited Experts;
- industry
- disability organizations;
- accessibility research;
- government;
- schools and universities.
- Participation requirements, including expertise and
commitment level, vary.
- Most WAI groups have publicly viewable mailing lists.
- All WAI groups welcome comments on draft documents.
- General discussion about Web accessibility
Action Steps to Consider
NOTE: These slides were last updated in 2005. Some of the information is out of date. Updated information is avalable from the WAI home page www.w3.org/WAI/