Consider Web Accessibility When Choosing Web Developer

Creating web accessibility in your website can be easily achieved by hiring a reputable web developer. You'll experience confidence by knowing that your website will be designed correctly and allow disabled and non-disabled consumers to browse through your webpages, make selections and complete purchases with ease.

Why the Right Web Developer is Essential

Having a web developer that is experienced and capable of creating a website that is web accessible is vital to your online success. You could potentially face legal problems by not following WCAG 2.0 guidelines or Section 508 compliance; this can lead to unwanted stress and financial woes. The point of running a website is often to create a financial gain through sales of products or services. If your site lacks accessibility, you have the potential of generating less traffic resulting in fewer online sales, put you at risk of a lawsuit and thereby limiting the success of your business.

Complications with Inexperienced Web Designers

Having an inexperienced web designer can lead to multiple problems that may limit accessibility on your website.

1. Creating Poor Color Schemes
2. Website Mobility Limitations
3. Interface Difficulties

Color Schemes are often added to websites for visual enhancements by novice web developers. These sights are often section 508 non-compliant and can lead to avoidance by visually disabled users.

Mobility issues are a common problem with disabled users. Developing a website that is web accessible will have multiple command options, users should be able to alter between keyboard and mouse usage. Web designers that have inadequate experience often fail to implement dual options.

A Simplistic interface should be designed to improve website interactions with disabled users. New web designers lack the ability that experienced developers have when it comes to addressing web accessibility issues. Do your homework when looking for a web developer and consider using a validation tool to check for coding errors yourself. Check your developers work to ensure your money is well spent and not blindly trusting the coding on your site is properly done.

Importance of Skip Navigation

Overview:

An important feature when making a website accessible to disabled users is adding skip navigation.  Adding a skip to content link should be included prior to a website’s navigation tools. A single skip to content link is usually adequate for a website. Adding a skip feature allows users needing assistive screen readers to “skip” between headers and sub headers labeled H2, H3, H4.

Importance of Skip Navigation

Providing navigation links on a website, on the left hand side or atop the page, will benefit the overall usability and give proper assistance to individuals with mobility impairments. The skip feature, for example, will be highly useful for those that have difficulty operating a mouse or using a screen reader.

Conclusion:

Yet, visually impaired individuals that utilize screen readers may hear all the links at the start of each page, this can be time consuming and cause irritation. It is imperative to add a skip navigation strategy that allows a skip over a block of navigational links for screen readers.

It’s important for every website to have a web accessibility strategy. Implementing web accessibility features improve a sites usability and give access to the widest audience possible. Skip navigation is one of the many features that can improve user experience especially for impaired users.

Why Netflix has had to do more than Raise Prices! In 2014 Online Companies are Being Forced to have Accessible Websites ?

Recently the most popular online video company has been in the news about raising their prices for new members. This is understandable when many individuals are dropping their cable subscriptions to avoid high priced bills and filling their T.V. fix through paying a far less costly monthly Netflix subscription. However, what you might have missed is that Netflix is also making headlines in another way. On April 30, 2014 the FCC is forcing companies such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon to provide closed captioning or they will be charged with the same fines as a traditional broadcasting company.

This all started in 2010 when a lawsuit was filed against Netflix. The National Association of the Deaf, Western Massachusetts, and Lee Nettles filed the suit. They are alleging that Netflix discriminated against hearing-impaired individuals by forcing them to pay higher subscription prices to receive DVDs that provided the closed captioning their online videos failed to provide. Netflix pushed back on the lawsuit, but eventually the site was forced to offer captioning for every video offered on their site.

This was the first time in history a company that operates exclusively online has faced charges pertaining to digital accessibility. There is a shift happening to require websites to follow ADA standards. Just as physical stores must provide equal opportunity to disabled individuals, so do their online counterparts. Web accessibility is on the rise in 2014 and it’s time for companies to wake up and realize that accessibility is no longer an option, it is law. If companies choose not to address the accessibility of their website they could find themselves in the same boat as Netflix.

Netflix Settlement:

• Add captioning within 30 days of adding new content by 2014, in 2015 captions must done in 14 days’ time and by 2016 in 7 days’ time.
• Netflix can be used on more than 1,000 devices and for most captioning is available. Netflix has in a good faith promise, to make further efforts to make captioning work on all devices. Yet, they will not be held to make captioning work on 100% of devices.
• $755,000 to be paid to the plaintiffs’ lawyers. In addition $40,000 to go towards yearly accessibility implementation over 4 years’ time.