Tools
and information for designing usable and accessible websites at Binghamton
University
brought
to you by the Research and Technical Services Web
Warren
"The
power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless
of disability is an essential aspect."
-- Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web
Much
of the material in this website is copyrighted by the W3C
and UsableNet. We wish to thank
them for its use and have provided appropriate links to the original
material.
What
is accessibility?
An accessible website is one that can be used by people with a variety
of disabilities.
Such a site ensures graceful transformation, remaining accessible despite
physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities, work constraints and technological
barriers.
It makes content understandable and navigable, presenting its content
in a clear and simple language. It provides understandable mechanisms
to navigate within and between pages.
What is usability?
The usability of a website is determined by overall user satisfaction,
the ease with which its organization and functionality can be learned
and remembered, and the efficiency and likelihood of errors while
performing the tasks that the site is designed to perform (for example,
finding needed information quickly or completing e-commerce operation
efficiently).
Usability is very much like quality: it is most obvious when it is
missing.
Essential
areas of design that determine usability include:
consistency of
presentation and controls across the site
natural organization of information: clear structure, systematic,
clear and meaningful labels
contextual navigation,
(how much information is given for providing a context to the user):
where is s/he? where can s/he go? how can s/he get back?
efficient navigation, how much time and effort the user requires
to move around the site
adequacy of feedback
in displaying the effects of a command, or in answering a request
"searchability,"
or how effectively the site content can be found by search engines
Accessibility
and usability are closely related, as they both improve satisfaction,
effectiveness, and efficiency of the generic user experience. Generally,
accessibility is aimed at making the website open to a much wider user
population, while usability is aimed at providing the target population
of the website with a more efficient, effective and entertaining web
experience.
Web Page Templates We have developed template kits based on the design guidelines
located on the Binghamton University website. These kits contain a basic
website layout in two different styles for each school in the University
with html files, backgrounds, buttons, and javascript menus. There is
also an interactive form process for faculty to create their own pages
without an html editor. Click
here to go to the Template Page and find out more about these tools.
Of
Particular Note to BU Webmasters UsableNet and Macromedia have collaborated to create the
508 Accessibility
Suite, a free extension for Dreamweaver 4 and UltraDev 4, that checks
pages for accessibility and usability from within the Dreamweaver application.
Contacting Us
Would you like help from us? University
staff members desiring assistance from the Web Warren should contact
Patrick Gill (pgill@binghamton.edu,
x76085), Steve Palmer (spalmer@binghamton.edu,
x72805) or John Hagan (jhagan@binghamton.edu,
x76118) in Computing Services.
