Web designers have the ability to shape the user experience when individuals visit a web site. Web designers and authors tend to be one and the same these days, presenting some issues for web users, both in usability and accessibility. Although following technical accessibility standards are a good way to ensure compliance to a law or best practice, sometimes the results are less than desired. Although technical accessibility was accomplished, functional accessibility may not be met.
Technical accessibility refers to accessibility as defined by a technical specification. For example, if a web page is to be deemed accessible by way of the
Section 508 standards, it must meet all technical requirements under Subpart B, § 1194.22 – "Web–based intranet and internet information and applications." This means that, among other things, images on a website will be tagged with
ALT text, data tables will be marked–up proper headers, and properly tagged frames. If coded properly, a technically accessible page will pass validation (such as WebXact) tests.
Functional accessibility refers to a web page or application implementing design elements and features that contribute to the overall navigation, perceived usefulness, and usability of a web page. A functionally accessible web page may or may not meet technical accessibility standards, but likely will, as technical accessibility standards tend to be minimum accessibility requirements. A functionally accessible web page will give users information and allow them to complete their web–based tasks in an efficient manner.
Simply put, functionally accessible web pages are going to be easier to use.
Tips for achieving functional accessibility:
- Use descriptive titles for web pages
- More and more people are relying on the power of powerful search engines (such as Google.com), and search engines use page titles to index pages within their search results. For example, leaving a web page describing a college's admission requirements with no TITLE attribute will come up as a search result called "No Title," leaving web surfers to skip your page within search results. Page titles also have the advantage of letting people using assistive technology to determine whether a page is relevant to their needs without having to peruse the entire page, saving user's time.
- Use descriptive titles for link text
- Links are one of the cornerstones of the web experience, and almost nothing can be worse for a user of links to have to constantly hear "click here" for navigating a page. Using text in links that accurately describe the resource linked–to may take some creativity on your part, but will save your users lots of time and frustration.
- Don't be afraid to make use of images
- Believe it or not, images on websites are not taboo! Many people believe that the use of images on a web page is a liability. The fact of the matter is, they do not need to be. Images can help communicate a message effectively. In fact, images that are anything but informative can also stay, just ensure that standards are met to help users of assistive technology differentiate between useful and non–useful images. Always mark up images in brief, concise ALT tags.
- Break paragraphs up for easier reading
- People who visit web pages tend to seek out information at a glance. Unfortunately, web authors sometimes forget that, and tend to lose web reader's attention with long paragraphs. Break complex paragraphs into smaller ones, as it will help in the digestion and parsing of information for all users.
The Web Accessibility Management Tool (
WAMT) helps web authors and developers in assessing design and content issues that contribute to functional accessibility problems on websites.
Overall, following tips and guidelines geared for functionality and usability will help in communication of the message, and less need for help desk requests. For more information on functional accessibility, contact the Accessible
IT Initiative at the Great Lakes Center at: 800–949–4232 (Voice/
TTY) or through the on–line
contact form.
