Years ago, my first computer tech was blind. When I had a computer problem, I phoned my friend, Brent, and asked if I could pick him up to fix my computer.
At that time, he would bring over a device he would plug into my computer and it would read aloud whatever was on my screen … really fast.
As a result, I’ve always been sensitive to the fact that visually impaired folks use computers — and websites — too.
For websites, I’ve always recommended writing alternative tags for images (a.k.a. alt tags). These work to verbally describe an image to the blind user.
Alt tags plus keyword phrases also provide extra search engine optimization punch.
Still do.
Recently, all this was reinforced when I ran into some local folks from Valley Center for the Blind.
I was fascinated as I watched them use their cell phones with voiceover. They listened to messages on super fast speeds and thumbed their responses blazingly fast.
One man peered closely at his screen. He had some vision. I noticed he had a dark screen with light colors. This can be harder on most eyes, but with the blind, it can be helpful.
Valley Center for the Blind does a tremendous amount of good helping with employment, accessing new assistive technology, living skills, and more.
I was particularly interested in the service they provide to business owners with websites.
For a small fee, you can have a person with limited vision evaluate your website for accessibility and for compliance to the federal Section 508 standard. This standard ensures people with various disabilities are able to access website information via assistive technology.
As mentioned above, writing alt tags is important, but that’s not the only issue. Is the menu accessible from the keyboard? Are the menu names audible on top and dropdown menus? Are the colors high contrast?
There are up to 72 items to check, and while no website can achieve perfection, one can achieve a high level of compliance.
This is important for two reasons: People who are blind, or have low vision, do shop; and, having a website in violation of accessibility laws leaves one open to lawsuits.
Easy Web Tip 376: Get an evaluation of your website to see if it is 508 compliant and accessible to the disabled.
P.S. Valley Center for the Blind can assist with accessibility testing even if you are not in California.
