Accessibility

Are you of the thinking that if something looks good is a respectable web browser such as Firefox, Safari, Opera, or Internet Explorer, then it is satisfactory (especially if the code also validates using the W3C validator)?
Have you ever tried to browse the web using a screen-reader such as JAWS or Opera Browser/Audible?

Building an inaccessible web
Content and application accessibility is not being regarded with as much importance as it deserves. Currently, too much focus is put on the lowest common denominator, and investing time and resources in features and implementation strategies that will get the biggest bang for the money and time is a commonly tolerated compromise. This Web Design and Development strategy is a direct result of letting business interests drive the way of the Internet. It is undeniable that the business community and capitalist market forces are responsible for the growth of the Internet from a scientific experiment, to the previously unimaginable medium that it is today. However, catering only to what will generate high dividends for share-holders can be lack of visions.

An example of this short-sighted drive to cater for the majority at the expense of the non-traditional and minority site visitor became clear to me in two situations where the CEO of a mid-size company asked this question when he was told that web applications built for the federal government had to be Section 508 compliant so that blind members of the public could use them: "Blind people do not read, and should they use the Internet?" In another situation, a senior project manager at another company remarked that to reduce server overhead, a new application would be built so that the last bits of XSLT logic to transform raw XML data to the UI (user interface) markup would be done in the web browser. When told about accessibility, and the use of non-traditional web browsers such as PDAs, text-only, and other browsers that are not able to parse XML/XSLT, he angrily responded that "We are building a rich application that will work with the latest browsers (IE6+, FF, Safari), opening the Web Application to non-traditional browsers is not part of this project and will have to be scoped separately as an enhancement"!!

The above-two are examples of some level of ignorance, disregard for Web Accessibility, and quick frustration with the otherwise meticulous process of making web sites and applications accessible. I cannot deny that it is slow, and anything but easy to attempt to code a site, and as opposed to previewing it in Mozilla Firefox or Internet explorer, to open up JAWS, or turn off the monitor and preview/browse the website/application without any visual information. This is also the biggest reason to make web-sites and applications accessible to blind, low-vision and otherwise disabled users.

No one can deny the the W3C placed and has continued to place importance and dedicate time and resources to developing the necessary techniques and infrastructure for designing and developing accessible websites and applications without compromising the eye-candy that we often rush for at the expense of accessibility. We therefor have very weak, or no reasons at all for not building accessible web applications and sites.

Currently, there may be relatively little motivation for business management to spend the extra time and resources required to make applications accessible. I once worked on a project that was launched despite my protests and warnings that the UI markup was not valid HTML or XHTML. The 'important' thing at that time is that the application was relatively stable and quite usable in Internet Explorer version 6, IE7, and Firefox. My protests seemed to many to be the passion or a lone and narrow-minded purist with little regard for the financial consequences of delaying the project so that the issues could be fixed and bring the web application to scope in terms of accessibility and code validity. The disregard for valid code soon begun to make the applications behaviour unpredictable, unstable, and difficult to quickly update because what initially seemed stable and usable became unstable when small changes were made

An ideal web presence presents an authentic and positive image of your company. On the web, strategic message design combined with an engaging graphical treatment of your website reinforces a lasting brand impression for your organization; this is how we make your vision a reality.

There are a variety of commercial and open source Web Content Management System (CMS) platforms in the market. We specialize in the installation, configuration, customization and template design of Web Content Management Systems based on Drupal. Drupal is extremely flexible and this characteristic makes it ideal for numerous configurations based on the unique requirements of every website.

cmsproducer.com has grown beyond the initial objective. It now serves to champion the development CMS powered websites based Web Standards, and W3C valid semantic markup. The Drupal framework has proven to be the ideal infrastructure for my projects. The visibility provided by the ideas and approaches discussed in the content on cmsproducer.com attracted notable individuals and organizations to request me to implement and brand Drupal powered CMS solutions for their institutions. With this momentum, I decided to leave my formal employment and dedicate all my time to my passion: Creation of websites based on Web Standards, and that are W3C valid, accessible, powered by a scalable and flexible CMS framework. Drupal has been the obvious choice for most of my clients and myself because it embodies, and is sustained by a similar passion for work-well-done.

In a move that is consistent with the Web Standards and Accessibility friendly direction taken by Internet Explorer IE7, Microsoft has discontinued the use of table-based layout in favour of Web Standards and Accessibility conscious markup and CSS based layout and presentation of content on its website.

Trend to Web standards
Microsoft is often regarded as the nemesis of any organisation that seeks to selflessly champion standard practices and procedures. This is not without proof as the software monster is known for hijacking and attempting to make it's own versions of Javascript (Jscript), Java(J++) in a bid to 'embrace and extend' as coined by Jim Rapoza (eWeek). This notorious reputation makes many an Opensource advocate skeptical and even afraid to see Microsoft get on any bandwagon that he/she cares for (Anti-trust lawsuits, and their attempt to force feed us Activex and IE dominance still fresh in our minds).

To maintain a balanced opinion, one must admit that many standards conscious web developers and designers often have a problem with whatever Microsoft does. The more that Microsoft ignores Web Standards, the more it (Microsoft) becomes a weeping-boy for all the compatibility problems and proprietary practices on the Internet today. Conversely, the more Microsoft tries to adopt and support standards, the more weary we get that this software company has ulterior and selfish motives to take over standards to help feather its nest.

A weighted approach to this issue is to evaluate and see things for what they are without naively letting any player in the field of web and other open standards take ownership of the movement, and without letting suspicion hinder progress. I therefore welcome Microsoft's progress in the path of adopting Web Standards and demonstrating the same by converting heir website(s) from table-based layout to CSS based presentation.

Next Steps - Implications
We must expect and demand that they fully support Web Standards (W3C) and Accessibility (WAI). The day that this becomes a reality will be the end of non-standard and sloppy markup on the Internet. Microsoft is a leader and is unfortunately (until recently), an example to many when it comes to the standards to be used when creating websites.

Winners and Loosers
Needless to say, the above state of web nirvana has been achieved by a number of Web Standards pioneers such as Mozilla.com, W3C, ESPN.com, cmsproducer.com, boagworld.com; while able giants such as IBM, Sybase, DELL, Oracle as still using inaccessible table based layouts while they could quickly and easily upgrade their CMS templates. Like the innovative market leader that it is, Microsoft has made a timely move in the right direction by adopting tableless CSS based design that separates data from markup from design.

Web Standards ensure that all content presented on the web is accessible by various media devices and channels in stable and predictable formats with content integrity. The basic structure that makes the Internet a worldwide inter-connection of networks is its protocols and standards.

Content Mark-up has evolved from the era of text-only presentation of information based on HTML (a sub-set of SGML), to todays websites that incorporate all possible forms of static and dynamic media. This revolutionary transformation has also brought about many proprietary technologies that hinder the original objective of the Internet (to enable content accessibility independent of the client platform).

In this apparently dismal situation, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has proposed a set of guidelines, best-practices, and semantic approaches that make it possible to markup content for predictable delivery and presentation on any platform. Adherence to these standards often increases web content production time in the short-term; but it enables websites to be accessible, fast-loading and compatible with virtually all standards compliant web clients; thereby increasing efficiency.

Web Standards are at the core of our site and Web CMS design and production. All our projects are validated using W3C validators before they are declared complete.