Disabled users

Blind users
Web users who have no sight at all may utilize a screen reader, which reads the content of the web page, or rather the HTML, back to them. This software, which sits between the user and the browser, sifts through the HTML markup and the technology deciphers what needs to be read aloud and what should be ignored.

Windows users can try it using the IBM Homepage Reader, which you can download for a free 30-day trial. (You’ll need a recent version of Microsoft Windows and a fairly capable PC with Pentium processor or equivalent.) Once you’ve downloaded it, go to your website, turn your monitor off, and try to navigate.

Open source screen readers for Linux include Emacspeak and IBM ViaVoice.

Partial/poor sight
To take full advantage of the Internet, users with partial or poor sight need to be able to enlarge the text on web pages, which means making sure your CSS is built with this in mind.

Color blindness
It is estimated that one in 12 men and one in 200 women have some form of color blindness. You can check how Internet users with different strains of color blindness are viewing your website with Vischeck.

Deaf users
Deaf users are able to access the Internet in much the same way as non-deaf people with one key exception — audio content. If it’s a key function of your website for people to be able to hear a message, then be sure to provide written transcripts at the very least.

Keyboard/voice only users
Some of your site users don’t have access to a mouse when browsing the Internet. Try putting yourself in their position by navigating your website using only tab, shift-tab, and the return keys.

Other users
Other people who may access your website that have disadvantages include:

Epileptic users who must always be careful to avoid seeing flickering between 2 and 55 Hz.
Web users from outside your industry who may not understand industry jargon or acronyms
Web users whose first language is not English and who may not be able to comprehend complicated language

PDAs and mobile devices
The number of people accessing the Internet from handheld devices is increasing at a massive rate — almost three million PDAs were sold in 2002 in Western Europe and in 2008 alone there’ll be an estimated 58 million PDAs sold.

Handheld devices generally have ropy support for large images, JavaScript, Flash and (too often) even CSS. Their width can be as small as 120px with horizontal scrolling not an option.

WebTV
WebTV has a maximum width of 575px and horizontal scrolling isn’t possible. You can download the free WebTV viewer and see how your website looks on a TV screen.

JavaScript
Approximately 6% of web users are surfing the web with no support for JavaScript. This could be because they’re using a browser that doesn’t support JavaScript (such as the text-only Lynx browser) or they’ve turned JavaScript off for security or to avoid popups.

Slow connections
Broadband isn’t nearly as widespread as you’d expect. In the UK, for example, just one in six Internet households were hooked up to broadband this time last year. Users on slow connections might turn images off to enable a quicker download time. Some browsers, such as the Lynx browser do not display images at all. Make sure you put in those ALT attributes!

And finally …
Any web developer or web development company charging or supplying you with a web site should be able to meet and implement web accessibility.

Web accessibility is all about following design standards and then adding in a few simple accessibility features. It’s not just about disabled users being able to access your website — it’s about everyone being able to access your website.  Design need not be compromised and a proficient development/design company will be able to provide you these services.