UNIVERSAL DESIGN

(Web Accessibility Symbol- Used on Accessible Pages with Voluntary Compliance)

Web accessibility is the inclusion of everyone, whether or not they have a disability, to the World Wide Web. This effort was started by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This move was made so that the 750 million people with disabilities, regardless of their capabilities, can access a usable Web.

Tim Berners- Lee, Director of W3C and inventor of the World Wide Web - " The W3C is committed to removing accessibility barriers for all people with disabilities - including the deaf, blind, physically challenged, and cognitive or visually impaired. We plan to work aggressively with government, industry, and community leaders to establish and attain Web accessibility goals." - http://www.w3.org

The people who design web pages can ensure access to their sites by following a few simple rules:

-Make it possible for people with vision, hearing or learning problems to access your site.
-Offer assistive devices and software to allow people with special needs can overcome physical barriers.
-Eliminate economic barriers.
-Make links for further resources.

Rules For Web Accessibility For The Visually Impaired

-Eliminate screen cluttering.
-Avoid placing more than one hyperlink on each line.
-Eliminate tiled backgrounds that obscure texts.
-Design high-contrast texts and background.
-Provide a text-only option.
-For pictures, provide a text description.

Rules For Web Accessibility For The Hearing Impaired

-Explain sound clips using text.
-Provide text descriptions for all video clips that include sound.

Rules For Web Accessibility For The Learning Disabled

-Have lots of descriptive pictures.
-Have step-by-step explanations for all instructions and commands.
-Use simple language to increase comprehension.

If these simple rules are followed, then your web page will be much closer to being universally accessible.