With the target lawsuit over and the WCAG II guidelines released the discussion of web accessibility is not what it once was. Beyond the thoughts and concerns of HTML5, people seem to have forgotten how important web accessibility is. With the web become more rich, interactive and feature filled every day we really should be thinking about accessibility more rather than less. Tools like javascript libraries put in the hands of those who don't know better have the potential of creating horribly inaccessible websites. Furthermore there are plenty of websites that are content focused that simply haven't had the care taken to make them accessible through the basics (alt text, semantic markup, hijack javascript techniques, etc..)

If we are to look at the percentage of people who potentially have one accessibility need or more, you can get a pretty clear picture that not only is it a good idea for the betterment of the web -- but also it makes good business sense.

The Rundown:

The following is the percentage of web users I have found with a specific accessibility need (please note that these statistics are gathered from reports specifically in America - however I would expect similar results in other major areas of the world).

• Users with visual, motor, cognitive or hearing disabilities - 10%
• Users with an outdated browser (pre IE6) - 1%
• Users who have javascript disabled - 5%
• Users running on a low resolution (800 x 600 or lower) - 4%
• Users on dial-up or a slow internet connection - 10%

This means that up to 30% of users surfing the web can be effected by accessibility issues on a website (there could be overlap in some of the different categories, so I say up to). This is a strikingly high number of users that could be effected and should be reason to wake up and smell the coffee. You wouldn't turn 3 out of every 10 people away from your store front, why are you turning them away from your website?

How to Test

Testing your site for accessibility usually requires a handful of methods and techniques. The best method of course is doing actual testing with users who have accessibility needs. However if you are not able to do so there are plenty of ways to test your site by yourself.

Turn Elements Off

One of the easiest and best ways to start testing your site for accessibility is simply to start browsing under different situations.

• Browse in all text
• Turn off images
• Turn off javascript
• Shrink your web browser

This can easily be done with tools such as the web developers toolbar.

Try Using a Screen Reader

There are a handful of ways to test your site using a screen reader with out spending large sums of cash.

• JAWS free trial
• FireVox Firefox screen reader plugin

Test Internet Speeds

Using a tool like Internet Speed Simulator you can actually limit your bandwidth to see how your site will perform under dial up or slow speed connection situations.

Accessibility Effects More People Than You Think

Ultimately you need to remember that accessibility effects a lot more people than you may think. It is way to easy to dismiss accessibility because you don't see your users having accessibility needs, however that simply is not the case. There are plenty of more common accessibility concerns that you may not have in mind that could be keeping users from accessing your site.

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