10 COMMANDMENTS OF WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY

Written by Chris P. Bohn


We keep hearing about something called 'accessibility' for websites. So what is it all about huh?

Well, it is all about webmasters making sure that they give any disabled visitors who come to their site an equivalent experience to that which a non-disabled person would have. So, if your site has garish rainbow coloured text and is full of puerile nonsense, then you must inflict your garbage on disabled visitors (who probably have enough problems already) as well asrepparttar rest of us.

How can you make sure your site is accessible? **********************************************

Accessibility is a legal requirement inrepparttar 137185 UK and USA for government departments and anyone providing goods or services. Although personal homepages may be technically covered by accessibility laws (don't ask me, I'm not a lawyer) you probably would not be prosecuted for infringingrepparttar 137186 rules on an ordinary personal home page. But if you are worried about accessibility, use one ofrepparttar 137187 free online validators. There are lots of them. The one most people know is Bobby (http://webxact.watchfire.com).

Rebels ******

Some people though, get far too obsessed with accessibility rules. The Web does need some rules. But people seem to forget that it also needs innovators, mavericks and rebels just as much. Otherwiserepparttar 137188 Web and all of us who use it will probably all die of boredom.

But if you do needrepparttar 137189 rules, here they are.

TEN COMMANDMENTS OF ACCESSIBILITY *********************************

1. Thou shalt worship Bobby and shall have no other accessibility checkers before him.

(And no 'marquee' tags either. They are so Internet Explorer! Some of us do use other browsers, you know.)

2. Thou shalt use 'alt' tags and/or 'title' tags in your images, because many people browse with images switched off. Also because some partially sighted or blind people use screen readers, which obviously cannot 'read' images.

3. Thou shalt not use 'alt' tags in each and every one of your 'spacer' gifs.

Although it would be technically correct to use 'alt' tags in spacer gifs, it would obviously be a nightmare if a disabled person (or anyone for that matter) had to listen to a screen reader reading outrepparttar 137190 'alts' in all of these tags. And besides, those hundred plus spacer gifs are only there because you can't design properly to begin with. Yes I am bitchy aren't I?

4. Thou shalt use javascript only as a last resort because many people browse with javascript switched off.

If you do have to use javascript then remember to use a noscript tag and provide a way for someone without javascript to use your site.

Starting with Search Engines

Written by Stephen Cope


Starting with Search Engines

Search engines are what makesrepparttar web useable. When you want to find information about something you go to your favourite search engine and type in a few words (keywords) and you get a list of Web sites to choose from.

You readrepparttar 137007 short description ofrepparttar 137008 Web sites onrepparttar 137009 list, and click, off you go to look at that Website. Ifrepparttar 137010 search engine has done its job correctly you find what you are looking for. If not you go back try a few other sites on repparttar 137011 list or do another search using different keywords.

Notice something very important - People don't search for a particular website - They search for a product or information to solve their current problem

When making you own Website you need to bear this process in mind. You make your website to solve a particular problem and you make it sorepparttar 137012 search engines recognise that it solves that problem.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

A whole industry has grown up around search engines. A quick search on Google for SEO gives over 15million results. These companies all offer to get your Website to rank high inrepparttar 137013 search engines (see website ranking) .
They will optimise your site for this engine and then for that engine, these keywords etc etc etc…

Its not surprising that anyone making their first Website feels a little overwhelmed when it comes to submitting their website torepparttar 137014 scrutiny ofrepparttar 137015

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
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