Accessibility
Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can access and understand information on the web. This includes the act of navigating web sites, interacting with the content, and contributing to the web. Web accessibility refers to all disabilities that affect a person's ability to access content on the web:
- visual impairments: blindness, low vision, and color blindness
- auditory impairments
- physical and motor limitations
- speech disabilities
- cognitive and neurological disabilities
Web accessibility also benefits people without disabilities. The flexibility offered by accessible web design allows greater access to the web by users with slow Internet connections, users who have graphics turned off, people with "temporary disabilities" (a broken arm), and people whose abilities have deteriorated with age.
Web accessibility is equal opportunity
The web is truly an "information superhighway." Web accessibility is essential to providing equal access and opportunities to people with disabilities. An accessible web can help people with disabilities more actively participate in society.
The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
For more details on disabilities and the web, please visit the Introduction to Web Accessibility (Alt-I, Ctrl-I) at the W3C's web site.
