The following lists provide access to a range of information about web accessibility in general and some useful hints and techniques for testing and improving the accessibility of your website. The second section contains some sample tests and reports. The final sections provide links to external resources that we have found useful.
Accessibility Help and Information
- Accessibility for all
- A general article explaining why and how you should make your website accessible to disabled users.
- Accessibility technologies
- A guide to the most common technologies and strategies used by disabled people when accessing the Internet.
- Business Case for an Accessible Website
- White Paper exploring the financial, technical, social and legal implications of web site accessibility for commercial and public sector organisations.
- Checklist for webdesigners
- A general purpose checklist of issues that authors, designers and engineers should address when working together to produce a standard website.
- Frequently asked general questions
- A selection of typical questions about accessibility in general and their appropriate answers
- Frequently asked technical questions
- Links to technical resources plus a selection of technical problems with creating accessible web pages and suggestions for overcoming them
- Legal aspects of accessibility (UK)
- Short article explaining how the Disabilities Discrimination Act relates to website accessibility.
- Test it yourself
- A quick test that you can conduct yourself. This test checks for three of the most basic problems that disabled people encounter in accessing websites.
- The importance of user profiling
- It is important for the webdesigner to appreciate the types of user that might be expected to visit the website. This short list covers a range of common user profiles.
- Tips for creating accessible websites
- Bullet pointed listing of useful techniques for creating accessible websites
- WAI Version 2 (2008) guidelines
- The revised WAI guidelines presented in table format
Sample Reports
These documents are available in PDF format and require the use of the Adobe PDF reader. You can download the reader from the Adobe website (it is free). Click here to download Adobe PDF Reader. If you would like a copy of one of the reports in MS Word format please use our contact form to request this alternative.
- Combined accessibility and usability report for a small organisation ( Size 474 kb)
- A standard report detailing both accessibility and usability issues relevant to a small organisation's website.
- WAI Level 1/A Accessibility report (size 400 kb)
- A basic level 1 accessibility report for a commercial organisation
- WAI Level 1 and 2 (A/AA) Accessibility report (size 1.2 mb)
- A basic level 2 accessibility report for a commercial organisation
- WAI Level 1 and 2 (A/AA0 Test score sheet (size 40 kb)
- Example of a standard WAI test combining feedback from users and experts to score a web application against the W3C Accessibility Intiative Guidelines (version 1)
- Usability Report for a Local Authority (size 293 kb)
- A short usability report for a Local Authority website in the UK
Links to useful accessibility websites
- http://www.w3.org/WAI/about.html
- Information about the WAI guidelines from the World-Wide-Web Consortium (W3C)
- http://www.aprompt.ca/index.html
- The free APrompt tool can be used to check that the basic HTML code complies with accessibility guidelines.
- http://www.drc-gb.org/library/website_accessibility_guidance.aspx
- For guidance on website accessibility and to see a copy of the Disability Rights Commission 2004 report
- http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/1995050.htm
- The full Disability Discrimination Act is available here.
- http://www.doit.wisc.edu/accessibility/video/
- A range of videos produced by the University of Wisconsin illustrating how disabled people access the Internet using assistive technology such as screen reader.
- www.remarktranslation.co.uk
- Remark! Translation – A specialist company who will add a video of a British Sign Language translation for your website so tens of thousands of deaf people can access your website information more easily and in a familiar format.
Other links
- http://www.verseone.com
- VerseOne are suppliers of a content management system with many features to help build and maintain accessible websites