Age and disability should be no barrier to web usage, says W3C

Stuart Corner
Friday, 12 December 2008 03:43

Business IT - Networking

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has introduced a new standard to help Web designers and developers create sites that better meet the needs of older users and those with disabilities.

The standard, WCAG 2.0 "addresses barriers to accessing the Web experienced by people with visual, auditory, physical, cognitive and neurological disabilities, and by older Web users with accessibility needs."

According to W3C it "draws on extensive experience and community feedback...[It] improves upon W3C's groundbreaking initial standard for accessible Web content...[and] will advance accessibility across the full range of Web content (such as text, images, audio, and video) and Web applications."

Dr Gregg Vanderheiden, co-chair of WCAG working group, and director of the Trace R&D Centre at the University of Wisconsin said:  "WCAG 2.0 represents the outcome of a major collaborative effort, and its final form is widely supported by industry, disability organizations, research and government."

According to George Kerscher, secretary general of the Daisy Consortium, the new standard will help organisations providing information on the web comply with new human rights requirements.  "In the recently passed United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, access to information and communications technologies is for the first time recognised internationally as a human right, WCAG 2.0 will help to make access to information a reality around the world."

The new standard explains how to make content: perceivable (for example by addressing text alternatives for images, captions for audio, adaptability of presentation, and colour contrast);  operable (by addressing keyboard access, colour contrast, timing of input, seizure avoidance, and navigability); understandable (by addressing readability, predictability, and input assistance); and robust (for example by addressing compatibility with assistive technologies).

The standard and supporting material are available from the W3C web site. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 ;
WCAG 2.0 at a Glance'¨; How to Meet WCAG 2.0: A Customizable Quick Reference'¨.