In the U.S., a report conducted by Microsoft and Forrester Technologies identified that from working age adults:
- Approximately 1 in 4 computer users have visual difficulty or impairment.
- Nearly 1 in 4 computer users have dexterity difficulty or impairment.
- 1 in 5 computer users have hearing difficulty or impairment.
Essentially, assistive technologies provide support and promote greater independence to enable people to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had a great difficulty performing. The following list is five ways website creators can be more accessible to assistive technology users:
- Take advantage of internal navigation links, such as “skip to content” or “back to top.” This will allow for users to skip through the sections of your site quickly.
- Provide content that conveys the same function as auditory or visual content. You can do this by adding captions to images, or transcriptions to videos.
- Ensure that elements still work effectively, even when technologies like Javascript are turned off.
- Be sure that all information conveyed with color can also be available without color.
- Use heading tags for article titles and subheadings, and use table headers to make titles for each column in a table.
Computer users want to be able to have access to the Internet, and we can help improve their access by accommodating for all types of users.
Check out the SwitchedonMedia website for more information. You can also get information about assistive technology products and services on the INDATA website.
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