About accessibility
Accessibility is about making information easier to get at, for the human and the automated user.
The idea is quite simple:
To present well-ordered and meaningful information quickly and efficiently to all users, on as many devices and browsers as possible.
And because there are so many devices (computers, TVs, PDAs, web-enabled mobiles), browsers and user-types, what is needed is a set of standards. The W3C provide just that; set guidelines on how to uniformly present information on the web.
Using these standards and designing with standards-compliant mark-up, the information can be presented and delivered to a wider audience. Designed to be forward-compatible and robust, these standards are great for a whole number of reasons.
More for less
The benefits of designing with web standards and accessibility in mind are tangible. The most notable benefits include:
- Increased consistency on more devices and browsers
- Faster load times (lower bandwidth usage),
- Better search engine results,
- Increased usability for more user-types, including the physically or visually impaired.
- Forward compatibility,
- Reduced development costs,
- and you are far less likely to fall foul of the law.
More on accessibility
If you'd like to know more about acessibility, check out our related links.
