Accessibility - Reaching Information
The right thing
We shouldn’t think of Accessibility as an option, nor evaluate if it fits our project plan or budget. Building accessible websites is simply the right thing to do. It doesn’t cost more money, it doesn’t takes more time. By paying attention to the main issues (creating semantic markup, using stylesheets, programming unobtrusive javascript, [...]
Accessibility
The right thing
We shouldn’t think of Accessibility as an option, nor evaluate if it fits our project plan or budget. Building accessible websites is simply the right thing to do. It doesn’t cost more money, it doesn’t takes more time. By paying attention to the main issues (creating semantic markup, using stylesheets, programming unobtrusive javascript, and adding alt tags on images and rich media captioning, for example) most accessibility issues will be solved. Clients, designers, developers, and all the people involved in these industry should follow these few good practices as a non-optional standard.
A good idea
Search engines dig accessible websites. You’ll have a better positioning, and your return of investment will come faster. The rules to follow to build accessible websites are the same that will improve your SEO, and enhance your design, page loading time, and maintenance costs. In other words: accessibility is for everyone. All your visitors will gain benefits from it, allowing you to manage enhanced customer centered websites.
Cross browser compatibility.
We support progressive enhancement techniques. This site won’t look the same on every browser. Those visiting us with older browsers such as IE6 won’t be able to enjoy the full experience, but will have access to all the information in a clear, semantic and meaningful presentation. The ones coming to the farm with a standards compatible, modern browser, such as Firefox, Safari or Opera, will be able to enjoy different features and faster interactions.
We’re listening.
We just tipped the peak of the iceberg here. There’s much to do on the web (and on our website) to improve accessibility. As we’re always learning on this dynamic industry, we wholeheartedly welcome your comments, feedback, experience or advise to improve and encourage the equal access to information for everyone. Drop us a line!
