Why Learn Web Accessibility?
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0:01 - 0:09[♪♪]
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0:09 - 0:12You may have heard of
accessibility in the past -
0:12 - 0:16or maybe you heard somewhere
that your website should be accessible, -
0:16 - 0:18but what does that even mean?
-
0:18 - 0:22The idea of anyone being able
to use a website sounds simple enough, -
0:22 - 0:25but it's more nuanced than that.
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0:25 - 0:27There are lots of people in the world,
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0:27 - 0:30and there's many considerations to be made.
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0:30 - 0:31In general though,
-
0:31 - 0:35there is one guiding principle
that should make accessibility -
0:35 - 0:38a lot easier
for anyone to understand. -
0:38 - 0:44Web standards and best practices
tend to lead towards more accessible websites -
0:44 - 0:45and vice versa.
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0:45 - 0:49Designing a website to be
accessible tends to lead you -
0:49 - 0:52towards web standards
and best practices. -
0:52 - 0:57For example, screen reading software
that assists users with visual impairments -
0:57 - 1:01can sometimes have difficulty
when tables are used for layout -
1:01 - 1:04rather than being used
for tabular data. -
1:04 - 1:07There are many different types
of impairments that encompass -
1:07 - 1:11vision, hearing, motor skills, and more.
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1:11 - 1:14We'll learn about
specific techniques to accommodate -
1:14 - 1:16all these different types of users.
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1:16 - 1:19Before we get into
the technical details, -
1:19 - 1:23let's back up because sometimes
web developers and designers wonder -
1:23 - 1:27why they should be so concerned
with accessibility in the first place. -
1:27 - 1:28There are numerous reasons,
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1:28 - 1:31but here are three
really important ones. -
1:31 - 1:35First and most importantly,
it's just the right thing to do. -
1:35 - 1:39The web represents
a giant leap forward in the quality of life -
1:39 - 1:41for people with disabilities.
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1:41 - 1:45For example, before the advent
of online news and screen readers, -
1:45 - 1:49it was difficult, expensive,
and oftentimes impossible -
1:49 - 1:53for a person with visual impairments
to read a daily newspaper. -
1:53 - 1:56That alone should be reason enough.
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1:56 - 1:58Second, as I mentioned earlier,
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1:58 - 2:02building accessible websites
has a tendency to lead towards HTML markup -
2:02 - 2:08that is semantic and easy for everyone,
even computers, to understand and interpret. -
2:08 - 2:12Every designer and developer
should understand the importance of this. -
2:12 - 2:16Lastly, you can get into trouble legally
if you're not careful. -
2:16 - 2:19Many countries have laws
that require government agencies -
2:19 - 2:24along with public and private organizations
to maintain web content -
2:24 - 2:28that is accessible to people
of all abilities and disabilities. -
2:28 - 2:32In the year 2000,
a blind Australian man engaged in a court case -
2:32 - 2:35against the Sydney organizing committee
of the Olympic Games, -
2:35 - 2:41and he won the case because,
under the Australian Disability Discrimination Act of 1992, -
2:41 - 2:44the official website
of the Sydney Olympic Games -
2:44 - 2:49failed to provide
adequate accessibility to blind users. -
2:49 - 2:51Legal disputes of this nature
can be extremely costly, -
2:51 - 2:57but they're also so easily avoidable
by simply providing accessible content. -
2:57 - 3:00As we'll learn,
it's not as difficult as it might seem. -
3:00 - 3:04Whether you're creating a new website
or even if you're updating an old one, -
3:04 - 3:09you should familiarize yourself
with the local and federal laws -
3:09 - 3:11that the website
will be subjected to. -
3:11 - 3:14Here are a few documents
to help you get started. -
3:14 - 3:18The World Wide Web Consortium,
or W3C for short, -
3:18 - 3:24is an organization that sets the rules
for HTML, CSS, and many other standards. -
3:24 - 3:29A W3C project known as
the Web Accessibility Initiative, or WAI, -
3:29 - 3:37published the first version of the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG, in 1999. -
3:37 - 3:40Since then
and especially in recent years, -
3:40 - 3:44it has been accepted as the gold standard
for creating accessible websites. -
3:44 - 3:46By the end of 2008,
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3:46 - 3:53the WCAG 2.0 had been released
by the WC3 as a recommendation. -
3:53 - 3:57I highly recommend that you take a look
at this document and read it over. -
3:57 - 3:58It is lengthy,
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3:58 - 4:01and we cover quite a bit
of the information it contains. -
4:01 - 4:05But even so,
you should at least look at it for reference. -
4:05 - 4:11In 1998, the United States Congress amended
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 -
4:11 - 4:15to include Section 508
which requires federal agencies -
4:15 - 4:19to make electronic information accessible
to people with disabilities. -
4:19 - 4:21The portions regarding web technology
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4:21 - 4:27are based on the guidelines developed
by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the W3C, -
4:27 - 4:31and this is also the case for laws
and regulations around the world. -
4:31 - 4:32In the UK, for instance,
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4:32 - 4:38the Publicly Available Specification,
or PAS 78, published in 2006 -
4:38 - 4:41also references the WAI guidelines.
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4:41 - 4:46This is also true in Canada, Spain, Japan,
and many other countries. -
4:46 - 4:49But even so, you should
study the laws that are local to your country -
4:49 - 4:52and strive to comply with them.
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4:52 - 4:55Accessibility might seem
difficult or confusing right now, -
4:55 - 4:59but we'll go through everything
one step at a time. -
4:59 - 5:02[♪♪]
- Title:
- Why Learn Web Accessibility?
- Description:
-
There are many people in the world and considerations must be made to make content accessible. A few guiding principles should help unravel the how and the why of accessibility. Other videos @ http://teamtreehouse.com
Like Us on Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/TeamTreeHouse
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- Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 05:02
sarah choy edited English subtitles for Why Learn Web Accessibility? | ||
sarah choy edited English subtitles for Why Learn Web Accessibility? | ||
sarah choy edited English subtitles for Why Learn Web Accessibility? | ||
sarahkchoy edited English subtitles for Why Learn Web Accessibility? | ||
sarah choy edited English subtitles for Why Learn Web Accessibility? | ||
sarahkchoy edited English subtitles for Why Learn Web Accessibility? | ||
sarah choy edited English subtitles for Why Learn Web Accessibility? | ||
sarahkchoy edited English subtitles for Why Learn Web Accessibility? |