Did you know that nearly 20 percent of all Web users have some form of disability? “Making your site accessible for all is a matter of courtesy, is good business practice, and is not difficult,” explains Robert Roberts, a professional SEO who owns
SEO Toolbox (http://www.seotoolbox.com).
In fact, Roberts believes that Web accessibility issues are so important that he’s been having monthly chat sessions on subject for students at Academy of Web Specialists (http://www.onlinewebtraining.com/courses.html). He’s also created a special section of his Web site that’s devoted to accessibility issues (http://www.seotoolbox.com/htmlchat/accessibility.html).
Roberts states that disabilities can be anything from “simple” color blindness to more severe disabilities.
The Use of Alt Text to Solve Accessibility Issues
“Let's start with image alt tags. You can use alt tag to your advantage, not just for SEO purposes. The alt description tells those users with assistive technologies what image is about.
“There is issue of lots of clear images meant to be used as spacers in layouts. Should you use an alt tag for every one of those? Yes, in a sense, you use what's called Null Alt, meaning an empty alt tag, like this: alt="". Notice that there is no space between quotes, which means that assistive devices will bypass image and not try to explain it. But if you don't use it, assistive devices will show a blank where image would be or cause other display issues.
“The alt tag for navigation images is critical. Actually, you should use text navigation wherever possible, as good SEO’s, but there are times when layout uses buttons, which brings up another issue - that of navigation preceding content.”
Solving Problem of Navigation Preceding Content
Roberts continues, “When a person using an assistive device opens a Web page, he or she is usually greeted by lots of navigation before getting to content. Furthermore, an assistive device like a screen reader will read ALL of navigation every single time. One solution is to include a "skip navigation" link that allows person to jump to page content. This can be in form of a tiny hidden clear image linked to an anchor tag.
“If you would like to see an example, take a look at source code for any page at SEO Toolbox (http://www.seotoolbox.com). The logo at top of page is linked to menu, because menu markup is actually at bottom of HTML code. You would be able to use this strategy with any assistive device or in a text browser like Lynx.”
Why Accessibility Issues Are So Important These Days
“One of reasons all of this is so important,” says Roberts, “is because of a lawsuit in progress that looks like it may get to Supreme Court. A blind man in Florida is suing Southwest Airlines because he is unable to complete normal transactions on their Web site."
By means of explanation, Americans with Disabilities Act provides provisions on accessibility of public accommodations to disabled, and this is Act that is being referenced in case.
The plaintiffs in case claim that Congress wrote ADA so broadly that Internet is covered, meaning that it 'applies to Internet Web sites just as it does to brick-and-mortar facilities like movie theaters and department stores.'
The defendants (Southwest Airlines and American Airlines) have taken position that Congress never meant to include Internet, because cyberspace was in its infancy at time law was written. So, argument is whether a Web site is a 'public accommodation' under Title III of ADA.
“But," continues Roberts, "there is a precedent that will surely influence outcome. In Australia, a similar suit was brought a couple of years ago by a blind person against Olympic Committee because he could not get tickets online. The suit resulted in a win for him: a $20,000 damage settlement.
“What all this means is that sooner or later, any Internet site offering goods and services will have to comply with accessibility standards.”
