Building an accessible website
This course has been designed by Userite to take you through each of the steps in building any website. We will explain how and why you should create your site so that it can be accurately interpreted by any web browser, mobile phone or assistive technology. The course covers the relevant International standards (WAI and Section 508) and other issues identified by disabled users.
The course material has been prepared by the Userite training staff who have years of experience using the Internet and a passion for creating an inclusive society. Whilst you should have some basic knowledge of HTML and CSS coding the course is aimed at anyone who builds websites (from the local parish newsletter to a complex commercial website). The principles and techniques described in these lessons are applicable to all websites, it doesn't matter if you use a web authoring programme such as Dreamweaver, a content management system such as Spearhead, or a simple text editing programme. By following the practices and principles explained in these lessons you will be able to create the "look and feel" that you want for your site without introducing problems for disabled users.
The course is broken down into 13 lessons each containing lesson notes, a set of exercises and access to the lesson discussion area. The topics covered include the accessibility issues identified by the W3C Accessibility Initiative (WCAG) plus more general issues to make your site easier for everyone to use. The course follows the stages of creating a "typical" web site.
- Preparing and structuring content so that it is easily accessible
- Creating and applying visual styles without disrupting the logical sequence of your content.
- Including images, multimedia and scripts to add interest in an accessible manner
- Creating accessible forms and effective navigation systems
- How to test a website. for accessibility and compliance with the W3C Accessibility Initiative Guidelines (WAIG) and Section 508 (USA)
There is no time limit, just study at your own pace. If you have any questions you can use the discussion area where you can swap comments with other students and ask us about any of the issues raised within the lesson.
Why do I need an accessible website. ?
Blind people hear the page contents read out loud via earphones or speakers
Blind and disabled people can use properly designed websites in order to gain a level of independence not available through any other medium. By using assistive technologies such as a screen reader a blind person can do the shopping, manage their own finances or perform a range of other tasks without having to rely on help from family and friends. But these benefits are only available if the web sites have been built using reliable code and following some basic principles of accessibility. These techniques do not mean that your website. cannot be exciting and innovative, but they do mean that it will be more reliable and work properly on many different platforms. Many of the techniques used will also help search engines such as Google to catalogue your site correctly.
These lessons are completely free but you need to register first to set up your student profile which will help you keep track of your learning experience.
Please note that we only use your email address to keep track of your progress through the course. We will not use it for any marketing or other activity and not release it to any third party.