Accessibility A-Z

A, AA, AAA: The three levels of compliance to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) checkpoints. Being awarded a level of single A currently means you comply with all of the Priority 1 checkpoints. AA, all of the Priority 2 checkpoints, and AAA the Priority 3 checkpoints. NOTE: This definition is due to change with the release of WCAG 2.0, towards the end of 2006.
Accessibility (web): Designing sites so as many people as possible can access them effectively and easily, independent of who they are or how they access the web
Alternative Text (ALT Text or ALT tags): Descriptive text attached to any non-text elements such as images, movies and animations on a web page written in HTML. It is particularly important for blind web users who use assistive technology called screen readers to make sense of a page.
Assistive/Adaptive Technology: Computer software or hardware that makes it possible for people with disabilities to access computer systems they otherwise not have access to with standard computer equipment. Examples include screen readers and magnifiers, closed captioning, alternative keyboards and mice
Cascading Style Sheet (CSS): A separate file linked to a web page that contains the rules for how the page should look in terms of colours, font styles and size and layout
Disability Discrimination Act (DDA): The legislation in the UK that covers the rights of disabled people – the section of the act on the provision of goods and services includes the requirement that websites should be made accessible.
Flash: Multimedia technology developed by Macromedia used for web animation and often used to build websites with rich dynamic content. Historically has not been very compliant with Adaptive technology but with each new version the accessibility features improve.
Frames: A feature of HTML that allows a page to be divided into two or more separate windows. If the frame does not have a <title> element, or the <title> element is not meaningful this can cause accessibility issues.
HyperText Markup Language (HTML): The standard markup language used to create web pages.
IBM software accessibility checklist: The IBM guidelines were the first set of published software accessibility standards and are still arguably the most comprehensive. They are not, however, as widely used as the Section 508 standards on software accessibility.
Irish National Disability Authority software accessibility checklist: Properly titled 'Accessibility Guidelines for Application Software' these software standards are a popular choice for companies in Ireland and the UK (although less widely used globally than the IBM software accessibility checklist and Section 508 software accessibility standards). They are well constructed and easy to understand, with useful testing tips and background information.
JavaScript: A scripting language commonly used on web pages. It has many uses, including validating fields in a form, or writing information to the user's screen. Adaptive technology such as Screen readers don’t always support JavaScript which why its use is an accessibility issue
Lynx: A text only browser that is popular with people with disabilities and those in low bandwidth areas.
PAS 78 Guide to Good Practice in Commissioning Accessible Websites: Published in April 2006, PAS 78 is guidance developed by the British Standards Institute (BSI) and Disability Rights Commission (DRC). It was written to help people who commission the build or design of their websites understand what they need to do to ensure their website is accessible and complies with the spirit of the law in the UK. It can be downloaded for free from the Disability Rights Commission website.
Screen Reader: Software that reads the content of a computer screen aloud. Screen readers can only interpret text content, so all graphic and multimedia must have alternative text descriptions using ALT text, captions, transcripts, or other methods.
Section 508: This is a common name for Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. This is an amendment to a US law that basically says all Electronic and Information Technology purchased or developed by the US Government must be accessible to people with disabilities.
Section 508 software accessibility standards: Properly titled '1194.21 – Software applications and operating systems.' These are US Federal standards on software accessibility. Whilst strictly only applicable to suppliers of the US government they have been widely adopted. They focus on practical accessibility considerations.
Spacer Images: Also called spacer gifs. These are small transparent images placed on a page, usually in a table used for layout. They help to place text and images on the page for a good visual effect.
Usability: Determines how easy a product is to use. It has been defined as: "the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which a specified set of users can achieve specified goals in particular environments”.
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C): An international consortium of companies and organisations involved with the Internet and the World Wide Web, responsible for maintaining web technology standards, such as HTML and CSS
Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI): Started by W3C and its members, it addresses web accessibility issues.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): These are the guidelines built by the W3C/WAI to address issues in building accessible web pages.
Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML): This is an updated version of HTML, which uses more rigorous standards and rules to make better structured and accessible web pages.
Validation: Each web page should conform to a specified standard (document type) which is normally placed in the web page code, if when checked with a validation tool the page passes the standard it said to be valid. The benefit of valid pages is that they work better/more reliably with web browsers and a range of adaptive technology used by disabled people.

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