Now You Have a Web Site - Have You Ever Heard of Accessibility?

An accessible Web site is easily approached, easily understood, and useable for all. There are accessibility standards set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium, which all sites should adhere to as much as possible.

Web site owners should be aware of accessibility standards, because most designers and developers often ignore them. It is a waste of your investment to develop a great site that many Web surfers may not even be able to use.

While personal sites can get away with more innovative technologies, most commercial sites should not go overboard. If you do business internationally, or with customers who are located anywhere but in a city, the user's bandwidth is a big issue. If it takes longer than a few seconds to open a document from your site, users are likely to move on, to another site that will work faster. Sites that receive a large amount of traffic will also save on hosting fees by keeping downloads to a minimum.

Not all browsers are created equal. Check your site for compatibility on as many computers as you can. It's wise to consider that some people don't allow JavaScript, cookies, images, or Flash and some people use text readers. By viewing your site on many machines, you often will find issues with the way your site operates or looks.

Search engine spiders will have an easier time indexing your pages when the links are standard HTML text. Text links also improve your positioning on search engines. If the text in your site is within a graphic or a Flash movie, most search engines won't even be able to pick it up, and you may never show up for the phrases you wish to be found for.

If your site takes away the ability for a visitor to utilize certain browser functions, you will lose more than you will gain. Removing tool bars, not allowing text resize, and functions that automatically redirect a user to another page and then do not allow for the "back" function, are all tactics to avoid.

These are but a few examples of accessibility issues. Ultimately, a Web site can never be accessible enough. Awareness is step one.

About The Author

Del Maxwell is owner of The Web Agent, a web design firm with over 200 sites experience. For more information please visit http://www.the-web-agent.com.

---

Planning Your Website for Success

Most people know they need a website in order to... Read More

Website Success is Key

The popular search engine Google indexes over 8 billion websites.... Read More

Website Imperatives and Solutions

When you take a look at the most visited sites... Read More

35% Revenue Increase? from Your Website!

2 Golden Rules for an Engaging Website35% of visitors fail... Read More

Nonsense! Why Do I Need a Website?

"I don't sell anything online, I don't advertise online, in... Read More

The 2 Most Common Web Site Mistakes

When we review the sites of potential clients, there are... Read More

How to Increase Sales with Automation Improvements

How popular is online shopping? And is there room for... Read More

Tips to Protect Your Downloads or Products

1. Upload robots.txt file in to your root directory and... Read More

Marketing Your Business Online

As a business you can't afford to ignore the Internet... Read More

Adding Word Rich Content to Your Website

You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print,... Read More

1 Simple Solution to All Internet Marketers about Their Website Design Needs

It is an undeniable fact that not everybody is keen... Read More

Do Dancers Need A Website?

Dance is how you pamper your soul and satiate your... Read More

Ebooks for Webmasters

Internet has opened a whole new world for web developers... Read More

KISS Your Website!

Many web developers today are starting to KISS their website,... Read More

Make Your Web Site User-Friendly!

Making a web site is easy. Making a good web... Read More

How to Draw Icons or Images on a Mapserver Generated Map

In this example I have used the map of the... Read More

Freelance Programming is Easy to Manage

There are several reverse bid freelance sites out there. Beyond... Read More

The Cost Of A Web Site

Just starting out, you can start with a simple informational... Read More

Pick Up Your Own Domain Name

Think up a name and check if yourname.com is available.... Read More

Building a Web Store on Shoestring Budget in less than Four Hours

Starting a business online is no longer as difficult as... Read More

17 Tips to Plan a Website

Everyone wants one.Everyone wishes they knew how to make one.SOME... Read More

What Hosting Companies Dont Tell You, Could Hurt You?

Did you know that hosting companies overcrowd their servers despite... Read More

Website Sales: 10 Reasons Why People Dont Buy From You

You've put up a website to promote a product or... Read More

Topics to Add When Creating an Alternate and Modern Medicine Web Directory

Alternate medicine finds its own place in the hearts and... Read More

Conceptualize, Build and Publish a Web site

Conceptualize, Build and Publish a Web site - What's required... Read More

Why Do I Need A Web Site?

Even though the Internet has been around for a long... Read More

7 Profit Producing Reasons Why Every Successful Service Professional Needs A Web Presence

Your business website is a critical aspect of being able... Read More

Do This One Thing to Create a Powerful Product-Selling Web Site

Spend time planning your Web site. Before you design a... Read More

You Need a Website!

No matter the size of your business, having a web... Read More

How to Create a Professional Web Site in 24 Hours

While creating a Web site may seem like... Read More

A Network Of Web Sites Is Not Enough!

The big thing these days is your ability to capture... Read More

Be Creative Before You Purchase Or Create A Website

Before you jump into spending coutnless hours on designing and... Read More

Make Your Web Site Stand Out

When visitors add your web site to their Favorites or... Read More