Accessibility
What is accessibility?
Accessibility, in relation to the internet, means the easiness to use websites for disabled people.
Internet and handicaps
Did you know that people with a handicap also use the internet? Especially this group can have a large advantage of this medium, because they can surf on the internet relatively anonymously and they are not judged by others because of their handicap.
How?
On the market a lot of resources can be found. For example, for visually disabled persons there is a braille translation tool which can translate texts on websites in braille, so that the texts become readable for for blind people. Another tool is the speech synthesizer which can read out loud texts on websites. These tools are only valuable if a website sets up some small adjustments.
Example
For example, pictures on websites which are not supported by text ensure that the website is incomprehensible for visually disabled and blind people. Moreover, if this picture is a hyperlink as well, someone with a visual handicap only reads ‘link’ in his translation tool. Adding a reasonable alternative text is then a simple adjustment to make it easier for them.
Broader reach
Better accessibility immediately results in a broader reach. Did you know that about 15% of the Dutch population to some extent have a handicap which causes trouble in using websites? You can think of colour-blindness, deafness and corporal or mental disabilities.
The adjustments who can improve accessibility for handicapped people, will moreover also improve the general usability of a website!
