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Bolt-on accessibility
Published: June 13, 2005
Working with local businesses means I get the opportunity to raise awareness about the web and the standards to which websites should be written to. This is a pretty good place to be as it means they then approach their web designers and say "hey! check this out, why doesn't my site do this?".
My personal approach is to give local businesses the knowledge needed to create a successful website. This will force the designers and developers to get a grip on something other than Dreamweaver. Even now, mid 2005, 80% of the clients I meet are still unaware of the UK DDA laws and the fact their website also falls under this Act. An even greater amount are unaware of what or who the W3 are.
Now this isn't a bad thing. Regulation is something the design agency should inform their clients about, it's their responsibility. Anyone running a small business has far too much else to do than learn about the Web Accessibility Initiative or tableless CSS designs. It's the job of a design agency to consult with every client and ensure their website serves the business model while adhering to the laws and the recommended guidelines.
Accessibility Charlatans
This post is in reponse to reading Roger Johansson's article about how major companies are all completely ignorant of web accessibility yet claim they show the way and set examples. Here in the UK, there are Government organisations, charities and Primary Care Trusts who all have accessibility statements and have made the necessary amendments to their websites to comply with the guidelines.
I won't render a hitlist because it doesn't actually take that long to find them since 8/10 authority sites fall way short of the standards but I'll give an example of the kind of bolt-on accessibility techniques that are employed.
- Adding <!DOCTYPE... to the top of the page - but then not validating!!!
- Adding Dublin Core Metadata META information
- Adding navigation assistance to the HEAD section
- Adding accesskeys to top level navigation
- Adding a link to a printer friendly version - @media print???
- Adding text sizing features - and still using fixed font sizes
There are many more besides but what strikes me is that all the above are of absolutely no use to anyone when the core of the site, the bits between the <BODY> tags, are soup.
Why is this the case?
Politics are defined by those who shout the loudest. The vocal minority. It's these people that the bolt-on's are aimed at, not the site user.
The target audience are the same people that protest against new buildings in a town they have only lived in for 6 months; the same people that define guidelines for safe internet use in schools but have no kids of their own; the same people that preach but don't listen; I could go on...
The deal of the decade
If you're a Government agency, an EU funded project, school, charity or non-profit organisation, I'm offering my services for free. I won't build your website for you but I can create a technical specification, audit an existing site or consult with you about a strategy for the next internet steps to take.
Email me with your domain name (if you have one) and organisation details and I will be in touch.
Even the most confident people with websites claiming compliance can be brought back down to Earth.