DAN STORM

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This author has several purposes: to explain why we should be concerned with accessibility, to define web accessibility, to illustrate the various practical issues relating to the web, to propose a mandate for User Experience teams, and to include a Web Accessibility Developer's Guide.

The Law

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990 and is overseen by the Department of Justice. ADA mandates accessibility as follows:

No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodations (Title 3 of the ADA 42 U.S.C ¶12.182).

This law does not reference the web. Sir Tim Berners-Lee conceived of the web in 1989, though it did not reach public attention until about 1993. But it is often assumed that if the ADA had been drafted a few years later web accessibility would have been part of that mandate. At any rate, the "place of public accommodations" must be defined with today's electronic media in mind, despite that fact that courts have defined this clause differently, some defining place to mean only physical spaces, while other have included the electronic space. Nevertheless, the trend in legal proceedings would indicate that the ADA will be interpreted increasingly in favor of mandating web accessibility.

Additional laws have been passed that explicitly cover the electronic space, such as California's Unruh Act, which mandates accessibility in "all business establishments of every kind whatsoever" (Cal. Civ. Code 51(b)). The most well known is Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which was revised in 1998. As it applies to federal agencies, it states,

Section 508 requires that Federal agencies' electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities. IT Accessibility & Workforce Division, in the U.S. General Services Administration's Office of Government-wide Policy, has been charged with the task of educating Federal employees and building the infrastructure necessary to support Section 508 implementation. Using this web site, Federal employees and the public can access resources for understanding and implementing the requirements of Section 508.

Obviously, any company or entity dealing in services to the federal government comes under this legislation.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was amended in 1997. Though it does not mention the Internet, it stipulates that public education be tailored for individuals with disabilities.

The purposes of this title are (A) to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for employment and independent living; (B) to ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and parents of such children are protected; and (C) to assist States, localities, educational service agencies, and Federal agencies to provide for the education of all children with disabilities; (2) to assist States in the implementation of a statewide, comprehensive.

An accessibility expert, Jim Thatcher , has given testimony in the case of The National Federation of the Blind versus Target.com (2006). K. Nakata has written a helpful white paper on this matter. Target had petitioned the judge, arguing that the ADA did not apply to the web. As Thatcher explains, the judge declined to grant the petition, and Target busied itself in retrofitting its site in several lengthy and costly efforts. (The author of this article that you are reading was involved in one of those projects.) The legal trend is clearly in favor of enforcing accessibility in all websites, especially governmental and ecommerce sites.

It should be obvious that making a site accessible is prudent and constitutes as evidence of compliance with the law. But how accessible must a site be?

Greater ROI

Money is lost when users with disabilities are unable to complete transactions. I am not aware of any studies that have accurately determined the number of dollars lost each year due to accessibility-related issues. But here is a quote from one estimate.

People with disabilities are the world's largest untapped market. 54 million Americans with disabilities currently control $175 billion in discretionary income. Additionally, we are an aging population, so these numbers will continue to rise.... The National Organization on Disability estimates that 35% of Americans have a minor disability and 25% has a severe disability. Moreover, since Americans are getting older, we face diminishing vision and hearing, arthritis, and osteoporosis. Although not all of these people are affected by Web accessibility, a great many are prevented from receiving information in a format suited to their needs.... Consumers with disabilities control more than $175 billion in discretionary income. Accessible information, stores, products, and services will help associates and customers with disabilities feel that their business is valued and appreciated.

An accessibility website has this to say about the percentage of the population that might have a disability. (See under "People with Disabilities on the Web".)

Though estimates vary, most studies find that about one fifth (20%) of the population has some kind of disability. Not all of these people have disabilities that make it difficult for them to access the internet, but it is still a significant portion of the population. Businesses would be unwise to purposely exclude 20, 10, or even 5 percent of their potential customers from their web sites. For schools, universities, and government entities it would not only be unwise, but in many cases, it would also break the law.

Compatibility with Emerging Technologies and SEO

It has been well said that good Accessibility is good SEO. The movement going forward is for sites to be accessible is a variety of ways: accessible to people with disabilities, accessible to search engines (SEO), and accessible to a variety of devices, such as mobile phones. Any sites that are inaccessible to persons with disabilities will very likely be inaccessible to other consumers, technologies, and devices. In other words, accessibility must be considered in the broadest sense.

Moreover, one's reputation for being innovative and cutting edge will be increased when one is viewed as understanding the full range of technologies that lie behind web development. Any developer or firm that does not consider accessibility and build toward it will not be long found on the map.

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