I know it slightly off topic but I’ve got a bit research to do with regards to web accessibility for the blind, and I’m in search of your view or opinions with regards to this. Would you consider making available for the blind when building a new site? Are you aware of any Acts or Sections in your country? Design or Access? What is your priority? If you think of anything else, feel free to add it! Cheers

Reply

In my opinion its up to you whether you design your site with this in mind or not. However, on the basis that every visitor has taken the time to visit your site, they are all important, regardless of disabilities.

Personally I always design my websites to be viewable to this audience - without going too far. A text only version of your site may be slightly annoying, but to some people means the difference between finding and not finding the information they require.

There has to be a balance between design and accessibility - I mean, if you made it completely accessible to everyone, your page would be simply the default text on the default background of your browser. Of course, you couldn't use tables as they are inaccessible. And don't change the font size, as people won't be able to see it...

First rule of web design, according to me: Content. The design is always secondary to this, being relatively superficial. However, a site devoid of all presentational devices for the sake of a handful of viewers isn't right either.

conclusion: make a text only version of your website as well as one with a normal design. I suggest doing this with includes, or external CSS - or some other fancy method that I am not aware of.

The right balance of accessibility and design makes for contented viewers!

- Vacant.

 

 

 

Reply

I try to always keep my markup clean. And I make sure that all content looks good when you switch off a stylesheet. That's really all I do. You can check my site. See what it looks like, then click on "No styles" in the styleswitcher menu.

If I got a blind visitor they should be able to navigate it quite well I think. The only thing I think I still have to check is that all acronyms and abbrevations are tagged correctly (acronym when you spell it out, like CSS and abbr when you read it as if it were a normal word, like NATO).

Anyway, what I try to do is keep content (HTML) and presentation (CSS) separated as much as I can to keep it accessible.


I don't think that there has to be a tradeoff between design and accessability. Sure, you can't use tables to lay-out your site, but that shouldn't really be a problem, you can use CSS instead. To see some examples of great use to style web pages with just CSS and no tables, go to the CSS Zen Garden.

My styleswitcher works quite a bit like the CSS Zen Garden, in the way that when you switch styles, the HTML doesn't change, only the CSS. Unfortunately my CSS and graphical skills aren't quite as good as those who have submitted work to the CSS Zen Garden.

Reply

I was wondering if there is something special you can do to your site to make it more easily read by the blind. Is there a site or two that I can go to to read up on this? You have me intrigued.

Reply

Separate content from style. That's really what it's all about. Semantic markup is good as well, use <em> and <strong> to emphasise things instead of <i> and <b>, that sort of thing.

There are loads of websites. Try the Web Accessability Innitiative, run by the W3C who make the HTML standards. The webdesign magazine A List Apart has a a number of articles on accessability. And just Google around.

Reply

[quote=bjrn,Mar 19 2005, 10:55 PM]
To see some examples of great use to style web pages with just CSS and no tables, go to the CSS Zen Garden.

I discoverd CSS Zen Garden some months ago and for me it is really a reference in design.

Reply