Friday, October 02, 2009

Accessible Website Design

  • part of RecreationAble accessible recreation forum
  • with Tom Pugliese of Publiese Media, and also newly appointed Executive Director of the Independent Living Resource Centre (Tom worked on our Web site Accessibility Audit, in late 2007)
  • focused on the *why* more than the *how*, and offered some practical "how" tips as well
  • see the "HowTo" section of the WebAim site
My notes:
  • remember that your "content" (ie the WORDS) are part of the accessibility so ensure everyone is using plain language...we still need to figure out how to say "Virtual Collection" in plain language
  • think about the AMOUNT of info on our web site...do we really need EVERYTHING?
  • plan to launch/implement/keep current a Web Site Style Guide when new site is ready...to ensure all staff (old and new) are on the same page wrt formatting / alt tags for images etc. ...an example (good tips re links and uniform use of common terms)
  • consider adding an "Accessibility" page on new site (as per Ind. Living Res Centre...their site has one)...which describes the accessibility features