Easy Ways to Make Your Site More Accessible

A presentation at MidCamp in in Chicago, IL, USA by Carie Fisher

Easy Ways to Make Your Site More Accessible

Easy Ways to Make Your Site More Accessible

Me

Me

Just the Facts

Just the Facts

What is website accessibility anyway?

What is website accessibility anyway?

Who is website accessibility for?

Who is website accessibility for?

Why should I care about website accessibility?

Why should I care about website accessibility?

Path to Accessibility

Path to Accessibility

Rule #1: Don’t Freak Out

Rule #1: Don’t Freak Out

Rule #2: Learn a Few Things

Rule #2: Learn a Few Things

Rule #3: Build from the Ground Up

Rule #3: Build from the Ground Up

Rule #4: Use the Right Tools

Rule #4: Use the Right Tools

Rule #5: Try, Try Again

Rule #5: Try, Try Again

Yeah, it’s that Easy

Yeah, it’s that Easy

Grey Muzzle Case Study

Grey Muzzle Case Study

greymuzzle.org

greymuzzle.org

Structure

Structure

Color & Contrast

Color & Contrast

Fonts

Fonts

Links

Links

Media

Media

Special Features

Special Features

Your Challenge

Your Challenge

Resources

Resources

Resources - General

Resources - General

Resources - Guidelines & Checklists

Resources - Guidelines & Checklists

Resources - Tools

Resources - Tools

Wrap-up

Wrap-up

Thank you!

Thank you!

Website accessibility is often an afterthought at the end a project when there is an accessibility audit or a user submits an issue, but what if we switched focus and started thinking about accessibility at the beginning of a project during the initial design and development stages?

In this talk I will present a quick overview of website accessibility (the what, who, and why), then review the underlying guidelines to making a site accessible, and finally present some general rules to keep in the back of your mind while designing and developing your next site. Not only will incorporating accessibility into your daily lives help people with disabilities actually be able to use your site, but it can help attract a wider audience/larger customer base, make your site rank higher with search engines, and can improve your overall user experience on both desktop and mobile devices.

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