Accessibility is the degree to which anyone can access and use a website using any web browsing technology. A fully accessible site is one that is designed to make use of the latest web technologies such as multimedia, while at the same time accommodating the needs of those who have difficulty with or are unable to use these technologies.

The UK’s Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) – there are similar pieces of legislation in other countries – defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that has a long-term or substantial effect on a person’s ability to carry out day to day tasks. When browsing the web this includes visual, cognitive, mobility and hearing impairments. Read more about different types of disability.

Text-only sites can be useful for someone using speech or braille output or a mobile phone. However well designed graphics and multimedia are a positive aid to using and understanding websites, and do not need to be sacrificed for accessibility. Read more about accessibility myths.

Everybody accesses the internet in different ways. An individual’s needs determine whether they have to change browser settings to view web pages or use assistive technologies such as speech and braille output, speech input, or screen magnification. People may also use different platforms, ranging from PCs to PDAs or mobile devices such as a phone.

Respond | Cheer this | 6 months ago (Nov 02, 02:43PM)

Yes please! Web 2.0 means different things dependent on who you happen to be talking to. I prefer the simpler “encouraging interaction between provider and user” explanation than a more complex covering of the topic such as follows:

“The phrase Web 2.0 refers to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking sites, wikis and folksonomies — which aim to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users. The term became popular following the first O’Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference in 2004, and has since become widely adopted.

“Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to Web technical specifications, but to changes in the ways software developers and end-users use the web as a platform. According to Tim O’Reilly, “Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.”

“Some technology experts, notably Tim Berners-Lee, have questioned whether one can use the term in a meaningful way, since many of the technology components of “Web 2.0” have existed since the early days of the web.”

http://alocalgovernmentwebmanagersblog.blogspot.com/

Respond | Cheer this | 6 months ago (Nov 02, 02:31PM)