University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Keeping accessibility in mind means considering the wide range of abilities
and tools used by those visiting your site. It means considering both
general technology and assistive technology.

Universal accessibility for a website’s audience:

• Computer platform
• Computer processor speed
• Type and size of display device
• Internet browser and version
• Modem speed
• User ability
• Assistive/Adaptive Technologies

Assistive and adaptive technologies for accessing the Internet:

• Screen reader
• Text magnification
• Refreshable Braille display
• Braille printer
• Voice recognition
• Adaptive keyboard
• Adaptive mouse
• Touch screen
• Assistive listening devices
• Closed captioning
• Emerging Technologies

The accessibility puzzle

Making the Web more accessible requires that several pieces of a large
puzzle come together. These pieces include:

• The knowledge and skills of the web designer
  (i.e., alt tags, captioning, WAI guidelines)
• The creators of markup language editors
  (i.e., FrontPage, Dreamweaver)
• Creators of course software
  (i.e. WebCT, BlackBoard)
• The knowledge and skills of the user
  (i.e., can use all the features that are available)
• Creators of assistive technology
  (i.e. JAWS, ZoomText, WYNN)
• Creators of browsers
  (i.e. Netscape, Internet Explorer, Opera)

View graphic showing accessibility puzzle