Understanding Compliance and Accessibility
Web Standards are the formal and technical specifications that define and describe how things should work on the World Wide Web (WWW), endorsing a set of standardized best practices, recommendations and ethics for web design and development.
Tim Berners-Lee's vision of the World Wide Web is as a common space where people can share information and ideas, where we can work, play and socialize together - universally. (read more here)
The World Wide Web Consortium works with organisations to create a set of guidelines followed by browser companies, web authoring and architecture developers and web designers to ensure the rich interactive experience of the web can be enjoyed by all - regardless of technology, ability or disability. A properly created website allows all users equal access to information and functionality.
Why Should I Make My Website Compliant?
It is a legal requirement as part of the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) to ensure that your website is accessible to those with disabilities such as reduced vision or mobility.
Having a compliant website works in your favour in a variety of ways:
- Will display and function correctly in every browser, platform and operating system
- Will naturally achieve better Search Engine Positioning
- Will load faster, run more efficiently, and is completely without errors
- Will be easier to make future updates and additions
- Won't suddenly stop working due to changes in technology
What Makes a Website Compliant?
HTML, CSS, and Javascript are the basis of most websites. To ensure a website is compliant this code needs to be valid and meet semantic guidelines in addition to proper use of HTTP and MIME to deliver page contents and resources.
Accessibility covers a wide range of areas, for example:
- Visual: Including blindness, low or reduced vision, poor eyesight, colour blindness - ensuring things like text alternatives for links and images, proper contrast between colours and link states, and proper page structure will help these users.
- Mobility: Including difficulty moving hands or fingers, tremors, muscle weakness or slowness, lose of fine control, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, stroke - ensuring links and clickable areas are large and providing support for keyboard or single switch device navigation will help these users.
- Auditory: Including deafness and hearing impairments - ensuring videos are close captioned, or have text or sign-language alternatives will help these users.
- Seizures and Epilepsy: Avoiding strobe or flashing effects will help these users.
- Cognitive: Including developmental and learning disabilities, memory, problem solving or logic difficulties - ensuring your content is written in plain language and contains visual support diagrams where appropriate will help these users.
How Do I Know if My Website Is Compliant and How Do I Fix Problems?
There are many online resources that will scan your website and provide an analysis of how closely it meets web standards and flag any problems. Here are a few from the W3C:
Silkweaver is happy to review your website, produce a report and suggest solutions to make it more compliant and accessible.
We will tick all your boxes as standard
