Visual Disabilities and Universal Design
85% of all people identified as legally blind are able to use information technology. Can they use your website?
Web access = independence for many visually impaired people. It means “reading” a newspaper, paying bills or shopping online—all without assistance.
Visually impaired people may use assistive technologies, such as Braille readers, screen readers, and screen magnifiers to access the web. Designs that are compatible with assistive technologies also make navigating the web easier for sighted users, too. For example, meaningful page titles, headings and appropriately contrasted text makes using the web easier for everyone.
Get Started with Accessible Design
Here are a few things to help your institution get started with accessibility:
- Provide meaningful page titles (for screen readers)
- Use headings to introduce sections and subsections in a logical order
- Use relative sizes for fonts
- Do not convey information with color alone
- Provide "alternate text" for all images
- Make sure link text makes sense out of context
For more information or additional tips:
Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act
iCITA Information Technology Accessibility Best Practices
Browse the videos to hear first-hand accounts from people with visual impairments and to view demos of assistive technologies.
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The freedom of being able to access web-based material Windows Media Player |
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Learn more about assistive technologies for the blind | |
Designing for screen readers |