Website accessibility tools and tutorials [BT broadband office]

Website accessibility tools and tutorials

Posted 12 October 2006 at 3:15PM by Ian Fenn in Website development

As the RNIB reveal, websites have had a legal obligation to be accessible since 1999.

If you want to check your website's accessibility, there are plenty of free tools and tutorials which will help - many of which we've used to check this very blog.

The Web accessibility toolbar for Internet Explorer is a must-have. Steven Faulkner describes how to use it. Trenton Moss offers further guidance.

If you prefer using Mozilla Firefox, the web developer extension is an option. Patrick H. Lauke explains how to use the web developer toolbar to check accessibility.

Vischeck will show you how your website looks to someone who is color blind.

Magnifiers.org lists screen magnifiers to download. A visually impaired user will use one of these. Check you can use your website using only the magnified area of the screen.

Download a screen reader - IBM's Home page reader or Jaws. Check you can still use your website when relying on audio alone.

Test your website in as many different browsers as you can: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Safari.

Finally, check it's possible to navigate and use your website only by using your keyboard - users with mobility problems may not be able to use a mouse.

Tags: accessibility, screen magnifiers, screen readers, usability, web accessibility toolbar, web developer extension, website development

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Comments

1. At October 13, 2006 12:14 PM, Marc wrote:

Thanks for this useful list of web accessibility resources.

I think it would also be helpful to add that as well as checking websites across multiple browsers, multiple platforms and screen resolutions should also be used. Above all, get other people to test your site and provide feedback on its accessibility.

It may also be worth bearing in mind that the imminent release of IE7 is going to cause issues with your website whether you like it or not, so start testing now!

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