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Accessibility Matters In Web Development

posted on: March 16th, 2010

These days, web design is supposed to allow access for all users, including those with disabilities. In practice, however, there are still many websites where poor design prevents use by people with physical and cognitive problems. A site's design can allow or bar disabled users in a number of specific ways. One important example is the use of alternative text in case images cannot be viewed. Visually impaired visitors using a screen reader will have no information about an image unless this vital 'equivalent alternative text' is present on the page. Similarly, audio files should be accompanied by a written transcript for those who are unable to listen to them. Otherwise, such visitors are denied that information. For people who find it difficult to handle a mouse, a web page which cannot be fully utilised via the keyboard will limit their use. A common misconception is that by ignoring accessibility requirements or providing a disclaimer that the site is 'working towards' them, a website cannot be held to account. Yet the UN Convention on the rights of people with disabilities views access to communication and information technology, such as the Internet, as one of the basic human rights. In America, the National Federation for the Blind took the company Target to court over failure to use alternative text on its website. It should not be difficult to incorporate accessibility techniques into the web design process as a matter of course. At Click Consult we realise that the best web design results from accessible web development and search marketing.

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Web Design And Usability Testing

posted on: March 11th, 2010

Carrying out usability testing as part of the web marketing and development process is potentially beneficial, but there are a number of pitfalls to avoid. Tests can be unreliable if they are not carefully planned and results can be useless if they are taken in isolation rather than as part of a bigger picture. One obvious benefit of usability testing is that it can reveal glaring errors made by the web design team. Other more subtle aspects of tests can be easier to miss. Selection of the right participants is crucial. If a user is asked to carry out a task he or she has no interest in, the results will differ from those of a more motivated person. If the aim of a test is to help streamline a site for new visitors, it is no use testing with participants selected from existing users, as they will already have come to terms with the established system and will find it familiar. Results must be analysed with caution. If a person visits lots of pages, does that show extreme interest or could it mean that the information that was sought for could not be found? Alternatively, a user lingering on one spot could be a good sign, and mean that the page was engaging, or it could be that the visitor was unsure how to proceed. Awareness of such possibilities makes it more likely that testing a web design will prove fruitful. At Click Consult, our web development professionals fully understand the pros and cons of usability testing.

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