Information Technology Systems & Services
What is Accessibility?
Accessibility refers to web page information/content being obtainable and functional to people with disabilities. It is about providing access to information for those who would otherwise lose their opportunity to use the web. In contrast inaccessible means unobtainable, nonfunctional to this group of people. Accessibility is a sub group of universality.
Definitions From Others:
- "Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web. More specifically, Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web. Web accessibility also benefits others, including older people with changing abilities due to aging." - Web Accessibility Initiative.
- "Information, regardless of form, structure or presentation, that can be accessed by any person, regardless of ability." - Michael G. Paciello
- "Accessibility involves making allowances for characteristics a person cannot readily change." - Joe Clark
- "Web accessibility is really a human rights issue. As more and more aspects of daily life -- from shopping to news to voting -- move online, it's crucial to ensure that we don't inadvertently exclude those people who can most benefit from this ongoing revolution and evolution. A user who can't drive to the store has a lot to gain from an online grocery service; a user without the ability to read the printed newspaper will find great value in online editions. These are real benefits of the Internet age, and they're often taken for granted by those who don't have major disabilities." - Kynn Bartlett
- "Basically, technology is accessible if it can be used as effectively by people with disabilities as by those without." - Jim Thacher
- Accessibility means that users of any kind, using any device, should have access to the essential information that is contained on your web site. The information is the key. All too often, web designers focus on how a web site looks from one browser to another. They get caught up in developing a pixel-perfect design for Internet Explorer and Netscape, running on a desktop machine. As the Internet grows, and more devices become web-enabled, designers must take into account what happens when a user tries to access a site with an alternate device. - Randal Rust
- "The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect." Tim Berners-Lee - W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web