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Frequently Asked Questions

Who can help me better understand disabilities and accessible Web design?

A good place to start is the Access Technology Lab located in the Mary Gates Hall Computing Resource Center. The lab is well equipped with adaptive technology. Tours and demonstrations can be arranged by appointment.

Another place to begin is UW Technology's Computer Training classes on the Fundamentals of Web Publishing, which cover the basics of creating sites that work with adaptive technologies.

Questions can also be sent to UW Technology consultants by either going to the Send a Question to UW Technology page or by emailing your question to help@u.washington.edu.

Where can I find good tutorials on accessible design?

The following sites provide the best currently available online tutorials on accessible Web design:

Can I use my favorite Web publishing program such as DreamWeaver or FrontPage?

The latest versions of most Web publishing programs include many features to help you create accessible Web sites.

Can I have multimedia on my site?

Yes, but design your multimedia so that people with disabilities can benefit too. Several methods can be used. For videos, provide captioning. For audio clips or videos where the narration does not need to be synchronized with the video, provide a transcript of the dialog in a separate file. Further information on the use of multimedia is available on the following sites:

How about PDF, Flash, and Shockwave files?

PDF, Flash, and Shockwave all have a number of accessibility features built in. Take the time to learn about them and about their limitations before using these products. See the following sites for more information:

Can I use tables?

You can use tables if you keep them simple, whether they are for layout or to contain rows and columns of information. Design your tables so they will make sense when read (heard) "linearly" (cell by cell, left to right, beginning with the top row). To describe more complex relationships among the data use THEAD, TFOOT, and TBODY to group rows; COL and COLGROUP to group columns; and the "axis", "scope", and "headers" attributes. Further information about tables can be found in the WebAIM tables tutorial.

How can I test my Web site for accessibility?

Several online site accessibility evaluators are available, including the following:

What kinds of problems might I have if my site is not accessible?

Inaccessible designs of UW Web pages can result in complaints, lawsuits, or regulatory action by federal and state agencies. The following are examples of the results of such actions by the Office of Civil Rights of the UW Department of Education against higher education institutions:

What if I am having an outside company create our Web site?

Build into the contract that the Web site being developed must comply with the Section 508 Web Accessibility Standards.

Besides Web accessibility, what other considerations do I need to make for my Internet-based distance learning course?

For suggestions in making your distance learning course accessible, consult the videotape and publication "Real Connections: Making Distance Learning Accessible to Everyone".

Why do you recommend the Section 508 standards?

The Section 508 standards were selected for a number of reasons:

  • The standards are comprehensive yet clear and provide good guidance in most situations.
  • A tremendous amount of work went into developing the Section 508 standards and someone else did that work (so we do not have to).
  • Because Section 508 is federal law, the standards and the training materials that support it are likely to be kept up-to-date, again at someone else's expense.
  • While the Section 508 standards do not apply directly to the UW (they are explicitly for federal agencies), many UW programs provide the federal government with goods and services which may have to comply with the standards. Using the Section 508 standards as guidelines puts us in a good position to do such work properly when the need arises.
What other guidelines are available?

The Section 508 standards are based largely on W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), which has helped make sure so many accessibility features are built into Web technologies. W3C WAI has its own set of guidelines and evaluation criteria which are, in general, more technically oriented and comprehensive than the 508 standards. If you are developing a larger or more technically complex Web site, you should also study the W3C WAI information:

Why is accessible design considered a good strategic approach?

Making a Web site accessible involves several basic steps:

  • Comply with HTML standards
  • Give your content a simple, logical structure
  • Provide explanatory text for non-text objects
  • Do your layout so it makes sense when sequentially read (heard)
  • Design to support the use of keyboard shortcuts

These are essentially the same steps you would go through to make your pages work with other technologies such as PDAs, web-enabled phones, or voice access information systems. Thus, in insuring your pages are accessible, you also prepare yourself for future technologies.

This general topic is called "universal design" or "device independent design" and is explained in the following links: