Why We Need a Set of Defined Web Accessibilities Guidelines
In my last post, I discussed the South Australian Government’s online accessibility policy initiative, which aims to outline the accessibility requirements for all content and programming aspects of the government’s presence online.
Such initiative may in time become the standard for the development of public schools websites. However, in the meanwhile, schools should begin now to develop accessible websites. As I have discussed in earlier posts, the large majority of all school websites in South Australia are not accessible to vision impaired users for a variety reasons. You can read my earlier post on this topic
The draft of the Online Accessibility Policy by the South Australian Government is available online
One key item of this draft policy is that it requires that there be equitable access to the web. Equitable access can only be achieved by developing accessible websites.
In my opinion, accessibility guidelines should not only be set, but education is also needed. It is clear that many web development companies do not fully comprehend what is involved in creating accessible websites. For example, some developers believe that an accessible website can be developed simply by installing plugins; this is erroneous and highlights the lack of genuine understanding. Web accessibility depends on several components working in concert with one another and is also a continuous process.
I look forward what it may come out of it.
In the meantime, at Edu Net Solutions we take web accessibility seriously by applying it on all our websites, including those for schools and private businesses.