By Thatcher, Burks, Heilmann, Henry, Kirkpatrick, Lauke, Lawson, Regan, Rutter, Urban & Waddell
Review by: Alex
Web Accessibility is at the helm of the new web development standards these days, it is definitely something not to be ignored by any means. However many people find the endless streams of Law, Usability and Standards guidelines a bit hard to swallow, I mean these days creating websites is a process which no longer can be just churned out at will using a WYSIWYG editor while debating the need for clean code. Web Accessibility is a very large book (in proportion to other books of its kind) which details the very necessary technologies associated with making your website accessible to all and within the guidelines of the law. The book explains how to not only make technologies like HTML and CSS accessible but it also contains details on technologies you may not immediately think of when producing accessible websites. These include JavaScript, Flash and the Adobe Acrobat PDF format. What makes this book extremely useful is its information is more up to date then the book reviewed previously (Web Accessibility For People With Disabilities) and while it contains chapters on laws for accessibility around the world, it tries to keep it within the context of the web and hits the target with ease. With information also on all of the most common browsers and how they interpret pages with accessible information and also giving a good overview of what software technologies are available for people who fall into the disabilities category (which is anything as high as one in ten of every people). The web is evolving into a new level of accessibility where you can browse pages without restriction of browser or device or disability, and if you want to be a serious website developer who wants to be able to reach as many people as possible then you will need a copy of this book. The book itself works in line with other books on Accessibility, Standards and Usability on the market but having the most comprehensive information on the legal and coding issues with accessibility there really is no substitute for this book or its valuable contents.
The chapters in this book include the following... Chapter 1 informs you of what web accessibility is, the myths of accessibility and what you have to benefit from implementing accessibility in your designs. Chapter 2 contains an overview of the laws and guidelines associated with accessibility. Chapter 3 shows you how you can begin to set up an accessibility group in your own company for the enterprise level designers and developers. Chapter 4 gives you an overview of the different types of web formats and what accessibility support there is with each of them. Chapter 5 explains assistive technology which exists for the disabled web user and how you can meet their needs. Chapter 6 tells you about making your content accessible so that users can get access to whatever your website wishes to offer them. Chapter 7 details making accessible navigation and how to implement a web safe scheme. Chapter 8 reveals how to make your data input boxes and tools accessible. Chapter 9 briefs you on the use of CSS in accessible web pages. Chapter 10 informs you on how you can make your JavaScript accessibility friendly using various methods. Chapter 11 proclaims the inner accessibility issues with Adobe Flash and how you can make accessible flash content. Chapter 12 describes PDF accessibility issues and the problems with using the Adobe Acrobat Reader format on the web. Chapter 13 mentions accessibility testing and the kinds of online validators which can be used to assist you in the process. Chapter 14 calls into question the controversy which is the WCAG 2.0 guidelines and what the advantages and disadvantages of using these guidelines are. Chapter 15 uses the content of the previous chapters to show you an example case study of an accessible website. Chapter 16 begins to explain the laws in the USA which affect you in terms of accessibility guidelines. And finally Chapter 17 further mentions international guidelines, laws and policies in terms of accessibility.
This book is suitable for the following types of people interested in website development:
- Accessibility fans that understand guidelines but wish to know about the tools disabled users use.
- Beginners to accessibility who want to have a generalised view of what accessibility means.
- Website developers who wish to embrace accessibility for the very first time in their websites.