Wednesday, 11 August 2010

8 Features of Accessible Websites (Part 2)



This is the third post in our 'Social Media 4 Non Profit' series, and the second part of 8 Features of Accessible Websites.

Last week we looked at:
  1. making sure your website works in any browser
  2. that it can be navigated & used without a mouse
  3. that text can still be read when resized
  4. that audio & visual content is available in alternative formats
This week, I have a few questions for you to ask yourself.

5. Is a list of all pages available?
Somewhere on your website there should be a list of all of the pages on your site so that visitors can, at a glance, see all of your content and click directly to the page they want. This is often called a Site Map, or could be a Table of Contents or similar.

As well as helping with accessiblity, it also lends a hand to helping boost your search engine rankings, as each page has a guaranteed link back to it. Plus it can help the little 'Google Bots' discover every page on your site to give you a greater chance of being found.

6. Do your links make sense out of context?
Imagine you are skimming through a website and all you can see (or hear) are the words that link somewhere else.... now if all you get are 'click here', 'this link', 'read more', 'here', you don't get much of an idea of where you will get to if you do 'click now'.

Try to make sure that your link text tells people where they are going. For example, in the following sentence 'Find out more about us' link the text 'about us'. Link news article headlines to the full article, rather then (or as well as) a 'Read More' link.

7. Do images have descriptions?
For every image that adds to the content of the website, for example a diagram or map, you should have 'alternate text' and/or a long description available that tells people what's going on in the picture. This is needed for people with poor visibility as the description will be read to them, for people who may have images turned off, or if for some reason your image is no longer available. Again, it can also help with search engines as Google can pick up the images on your website to display within their image serach results.

8. Is your code valid?
A little bit on the technical side, but valid code is good practice and will make sure there are no mistakes. A missing comma or end bracket can mean your site won't work at all. There are checks you can run on your website to see how valid your website code is.

Again it will also help with search engine positions, making sure the search engines have the right information available, it helps with browser compatibility, and all of the accessibility guidelines I haven't yet mentioned.


This isn't the be-all and end-all guide to accessibility, but it's a step in the right direction and the very minimum you should be doing to ensure your site is accessible. For more information on the full guidelines visit the W3C Website.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Most of the scholars build mistakes in English however we want to find out from it. http://www.dissertationstatisticshelp.net/statistical-software-nvivo/ and visit this web site and acquire to grasp what to try to for double major.

mile said...

Glad to urge an opportunity to browse your post. There has such a lot of review project whereas you'll very build it into the highest. more tips here along with your facilitate, they'll simply build it happened with the standard.

Hildegard Flatley said...

I think, online essayists have changed into an essential piece of getting ready course of action of any good site nation and in nowadays, we can't express that they are not expecting a fundamental occupation in the direction structure. They are astoundingly basic for the understudies.

Rick Curry said...

really interesting and share worthy press release that you share here. i always enjoy your updated posts. you are really good job blogging click here. Have a nice day!

Cali Luna said...

Are you looking for a new and updated website feature? Does the report show the Chemicloud Coupon is a newly launched business's website hosting?. There is a market or businesses owner use to boost sales.

Unknown said...

Your search to Hire Someone To Write Essay has come to an end with our academic writing company write my assignment online . Feel free to contact us at your convenience.

harry said...

I’m also thinking of making the website for our family brand of clothing; this post of yours has highlighted some important features which I’m gonna include in my website. I’ve noticed the inculcation of similar features/steps in https://paytotakemyclassonline.com/ who takes your online class on your behalf and their popularity is the indication of the success of this technique.

sandra said...

I'm hoping for this kind of content to be published! It's thrilling to have access. This has been implemented in my UX team at my organization. I also work on my portfolio and use weblog to make it fully wikipedia writing services USA accessible.

TamaraYeo said...

what is good for soul do that. have a good day! check this link out how much are guitar lessons

Gigi Smith said...

how much does a doula cost happiness is a direction, not a place. keep safe! click this link out

TillyRacker_ said...

because today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday! check this link out house cleaning services near me

Zayn Khaled said...

For the current prayer time dammam, the Islamic date of 18 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1444 is used as the foundation. An agenda for the next seven and thirty days' worth of Dammam salah or namaz hours is provided for the convenience of all Muslims.

Sublimated Football Jersey said...

We create personalized football jerseys for men that go above and beyond your expectations at half the cost

mallsandbrands said...

Thank you very much for sharing this information with us. After reading this blog, we got a lot of information and we will spread this information to many people. We Malls And Brands online mobile store UAE

Warehouse fans Miami said...

I am Coolex USA very excited about this post as per the given information this post is amazing. If you people are looking for Air Duct Cleaning, click on the above-given Air duct cleaning fort Lauderdale and avail the benefits as per your requirement. So thank you so much yours