Accessibility

The word "accessibility," in Wikipedia's terms, is simply put: the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. It makes sense as to why we use the term when it comes to web design. One who makes a webpage usually doesn't want to keep the site to himself. He wants to share the site and in order to have a popular/successful site he has to be sure it is accessible by it's users.

One big thing that has changed just over the past five years is the number of smart devices that people can use to access their favorite sites. You have mobile phones, tablets like the ipad, e-readers like the kindle, even mp3 players and GPS units have access to web browsers these days. With this in mind, one of the best bets for your website is to have a mobile version for the accessibility of on-the-go users.

Of course, I have found, that mobile device accessibility is not the only characteristic of a good site. Some other things you have to keep in mind are visual impairments, audio assistance, and physical/mobility issues. When looking at a site or creating your own a good place to start an evaluation is with the Web Accessibility Initiation's (WAI) guidelines. They range from text language to color choice.

I think this week of accessibility has really opened my eyes to some key things I will need to include in my webpage design.

Stay Golden