Frequently Asked Questions

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

A good place to start is the Adaptive 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 C&C'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 the Usability email list at usability@u.washington.edu. Managed by the UWired Usability Committee, the list is for discussions relating to usability and accessibility of the UW's educational Web sites.

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 disabled persons can benefit too. Several methods can be used. For videos, provide closed captioning. Where the narration does not need to be synchronized with the video, provide a transcription 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?

Of course. 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). Use THEAD, TFOOT, and TBODY to group rows, COL and COLGROUP to group columns, and the "axis", "scope", and "headers" attributes, to describe more complex relationships among data. 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.

  • WAVE Accessibility Checker - Temple University. In addition to pointing out problems with your HTML, WAVE indicates the sequence in which parts of your page will be read.
  • Bobby - Accessibility validator.