ITSpotlight is designed to keep the campus up to date on ITS activities and services.
Web Accessibility: What it is and why it's important
Posted March 13, 2019
By: Emily Macios
While you've probably heard the term 'Web Accessibility' before, you may not know exactly what it means. Web Accessibility is the act of creating digital content that is accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities. Visual, physical, speech, hearing, and other types of disabilities may impact how people use and interact with the web. This makes it very important to always follow the web accessibility standards and guidelines when creating content for the web.
Not only is web accessibility important for those with disabilities, but it also overlaps with usability, and search engine optimization (SEO). Making your web content accessible for everyone also helps your content in search engine results.
Here are some of the most important practices to follow:
Alternative text for an image
Always make sure to add alt text to your image. A visual disability may prohibit someone from viewing an important image, therefore it's important to add alternative text to describe the image so that screen readers can detect it.
Transcripts for audio/video
Always make sure to include a text transcript/closed captioning for any audio or video files. A hearing disability may prohibit someone from listening to an important piece of media, therefore it's important to have a transcript so that it can be consumed visually.
Keyboard input
Always make sure all elements are accessible with a keyboard, and that they do not rely on a mouse input. For forms and navigation, it is important that they always be accessible via keyboard input.
Default HTML tags
Always make sure to use the appropriate html tags such as buttons, tables, headers, etc. This will allow screen readers to work correctly with the correct emphasis.
While these are some of the most important standards to follow, please visit the links below to learn more about the importance of Web Accessibility.
https://www.w3.org/WAI/
https://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/accessibility
To check the accessibility of a web page:
https://fae.disability.illinois.edu/anonymous/?Anonymous%20Report=/
