Metadata Management

There is a growing rift between web teams over the issue of web accessibility. Three camps exist: those who believe accessibility is about disability, those who believe it is broader than that and those who really do not care either way. As normal, my position is I have a foot (big size 4) in two camps.

There is currently a virtual fistfight ensuing between numerous well-respected figures in the web operations and  accessibility communities that reflects the wider gulf emerging between those that design with and for the web.

The two positions taken are as follows:

Accessibility is about the disabled

Many believe that web accessibility is entirely about meeting the needs of disabled people. It is about helping those who have no control over how they access web sites because of some physical or cognitive disability. These developers and designers believe that if people choose to use incompatible software, whilst there are compatible options available, then this does not constitute an accessibility issue.

Accessibility is not just about the disabled

The other side of the argument is that accessibility is not "just" or even "primarily" about people with disabilities. Rather, it is about going to all reasonable lengths to ensure the widest possible access to information you provide on your site.

My size 4’s in two camps

If all you do is ensure your site runs in another browser in addition to Internet Explorer or ensure that colour-blind people can still read your copy then that has more value than all the endless theoretical debates in the world.

With fear and trepidation, I would like to wade into the middle of the debate by suggesting that the pragmatic and socially responsible approach lies somewhere in between.

Socially responsible

I believe that accessibility should be about more than meeting the needs of disabled users. It should certainly extend beyond the sometimes-limiting checkpoints of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. and as such website governance standards are imperative.

I do not believe we can always expect users to upgrade or change their browser options simply because it is theoretically possible. As various members of web teams, we work with computers and browsers all the time. It is easy therefore to forget that the majority of people do not know how to upgrade their browsers or even change their default settings. In reality, many of them have trouble completing online forms! Even if they do, there are many environments where that option is unavailable to them such as in some corporate offices or in a public library where configuration is limited or non-existent.

Pragmatic

After saying all of that you have to draw the line somewhere. The real world of web operations management, with limited timescales and finite budgets, does not allow you to develop around every browser bug or accommodate every possible limitation. In the real world, you have to worry about return on investment. Is it worth 2 weeks work to get your site working successfully on a Mac when you’re selling a product that only runs under windows? Is it worth making sure your site works with screen readers when you are offering driving lessons? In some situations the answer to both those questions could actually be yes, but what you need to ask yourself is how often is that the case. In addition, some functionality is just impossible to reproduce in an entirely accessible format. In fact, I would go as far as to say it is impossible to make a site entirely accessible anyway. We need to resign ourselves to the fact that accessibility is full of grey areas and we have to endeavour to do the best we can with the resources available to us. We need to make decisions on a case-by-case basis.

Don’t forget the third camp

At the beginning of this entry, I mentioned three camps. It is important to remember that there is a huge number of web site owners out there that have not faced up to the issue of web site accessibility at all. Arguments like this can just make an intimidating subject even more so. In my opinion, taking one-step into the world of accessibility is better than doing nothing at all.

So think about wading in (with your big size 4s) and join in the debate. How do you currently ensure accessibility? Have you got website governance standards in place and have you ever thought about automated accessibility checking? If not, have a think about trying WebWorxx. WebWorxx does so much more than daily automated accessibility checking for your website - but that, my friends, is for another blog post.

This is a safe place and we love hearing your opinions so drop us a line or download the free WebWorxx trial to see how it can give your web team control.