Most sites are not designed from the ground up with accessibility in mind. One reason is that making a site accessible is deemed to be complex and like any complex endeavor, people perceive it to be expensive. Another reason is that most site owners underestimate the number of users with disabilities who are likely to visit their sites. Finally, many site designers themselves are ignorant about what it takes to make sites accessible and as a result, scant attention is paid to accessibility in designing web sites.

The fact, though, is that making sites accessible is not overly complex; it only amounts to following a set of rules, guidelines, and best practices while writing HTML. It is not expensive to do if done right the first time.

An accessible site is simply a site where people with disabilities can navigate easily and access all its content. For example, people with low vision should be able to make the font size bigger and the site should have a maximum colour contrast; blind people who use screen readers should be able to navigate the site easily and get to the desired content quickly; people who have trouble using a mouse should be able to use the keyboard instead; and people who are deaf should not miss out on the content just because it is in an audio format. This is not an exhaustive list, but it gives you an idea of the various needs.

So you may want to ask; why should we take the trouble to make our sites accessible? Here is why; first, if a screen reader can read and interpret the content of your site correctly, it is quite likely that search engines crawlers, which are more like screen readers than like browsers, will index your site correctly and better – which also means that people are more likely to find it.

Second, your site will likely render better and be easy to use for the increasing number of people who access the web with their cell phones and other personal assistive devises.

Thirdly, it is more efficient and cost effective to maintain an accessible site. Accessible web design separates content from presentation. This makes it easier and less expensive to change the look of your site. For these reasons, making websites accessible is good for business. 

Of course, this can be easier said than done because there are numerous competing accessibility standards. One prominent standard which is viewed as robust within the industry is the Website Accessibility Initiative (WAI) standard developed by W3C, the World Wide Web Consortium. The web content accessibility guideline can be found here:
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG/.

Inherent to the purpose of the World Wide Web is equal access to its content by all persons. We at the Secretariat of the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities therefore urge web developers to produce websites that all people, regardless of age, disability or technology, can use successfully without discrimination.

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This article was published in Human Rights Africa number 2, 2007.