Accessibility In Web Design

Accessibility refers to making a website accessible to all websurfers, regardless of which computer, monitor or web browser a person is using. For this reason websites designed by Fast Lion Design are built to work on PCs and Macs with various screen resolutions, as well as on all of the leading web browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera.

Websites must also be accessible to the visually impaired and handicapped. Many visually impaired and handicapped persons use screen-reading software, which reads text aloud. For these people text is experienced through their ears rather than their eyes, or through a combination of both.

Although I don’t use screen-reading software, I have learned to make websites accessible for one simple reason: because it’s the right thing to do.

Currently, the only accessibility law that exists in the United States requires websites created for the federal government to be accessible. But, eventually, laws will be passed requiring all websites to follow accessibility guidelines. So why wait? It is better to act now and follow the accessibility guidelines.

Fast Lion Design Follows Accessibility Guidelines

I have been making a good faith effort to follow accessibility guidelines for all websites I have created the past few years. I include these features on every web page:

• Standards-compliant HTML and CSS code that separates structure from presentation;
• “Skip to content” link at the top of every page (only screen-reading software can see this link);
• Well-structured document with proper headings to organize text;
• Alt and title tags to give text descriptions of images;
• Resizable fonts for people who have trouble reading close-up and simply want to increase the size of the words on the screen.

Accessibility of web pages is a growing and changing field, and I am doing my best to learn and apply this important aspect of design. Feel free to email me with your comments or suggestions about accessibility.

Use Your Web Browser To Make A Web Page More Readable

Tired of reading small letters on websites? Want to avoid eye strain? You can easily solve this problem. All you have to do is press two keys on your keyboard.

While holding down the Ctrl key, press the + key. This will expand the size of the web page and make the letters bigger and easier to read. Press the + key a second time to expand the size of the page again. You can press either of two + keys on your keyboard: at the top middle or top far right of your keyboard.

Windows users can use this simple technique in all web browsers today, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera. Try it yourself.