Making Websites Accessible

Sandi Gauder May 15th, 2018

What is an accessible website?

An accessible website is a site that can be used by all of your visitors, including those with disabilities, no matter what tools they use to navigate the web.  Some of your visitors may have reduced vision and use a screen reader to listen to websites. Other visitors may have limited motor skills and use a keyboard instead of a mouse. Accessible websites allow all users to access the information they need with the least difficulty possible.

How do I make a website accessible?

Making websites accessible is not difficult if you start some basics:

• Semantic, standards-based HTML and CSS
• Clear, well organized content
• Colour scheme with good contrast
• Images with alternative text
• Videos with captions

How do I get started?

There are many resources available to help you build accessible websites, but the most valuable resource for developers is the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The W3c developed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to provide a road map for building an accessible website.

For more information and resources to help you get started with web accessibility, visit webaccessibilityexplained.ca