WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

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Re: development time and accessibility

for

From: Jon Gunderson
Date: Mar 2, 2007 8:00AM

Accessible design saves money!

My experience on the UIUC campus is that current web development is very inefficient process in itself, since most web developers have never been formally trained as web developers and only eclecticly understand the web therough the authoring tools they happen to use and the coding techniques they copy from people they know or like.

Developers without much training in web technology use poor inline styling and image techniques that require a lot of manual editing of each page to maintain any level of consistency between pages. At UIUC we are piggy backing accessibility on top of web standards using CSS. Most web developers after they learn these html+css techniques are thanking us because it is so much easier for them to create and maintain websites. So I would argue that accessibility actually saves money, although there is the initial time for web developers to learn web standards based design techniques. But the efficiencies gained from this learning saves money in the long run and makes it easier for people to upgrade the look and feel of websites or support new web technologies without having to do extensive rewrites.

Some quotes from real web developers on campus:

==========================================================Quote #1

Accessible web designs are more easily maintained than non accessible ones because standards compliance and good separation of content (html) and style (css) make adapting to future browsers and technologies easier. They are also more usable in different devices (Cell Phones, PDA, printer friendly pages, etc) and broader audiences including blind, visually impaired, color blind, those with slow internet connections or older computers, and those with hearing and motor impairments. Accessible designs give better search engine rankings for your site. The techniques used to make a site more accessible also make it much cheaper and quicker to change the look and feel of a website.


Retrofitting a web site for accessibility is much more costly than making a site accessible from the beginning, simply because the work has to be done a second time. The costs of retrofitting accessibility are both in the content areas of the individual web pages and the. In many sites with simple template designs, templates can be redesigned for accessibility and the changes easily propagated to all pages in the site. Then accessibility changes to the content areas of the site must be done on a page by page basis and involve training all the content authors for the site and having them pick through the content areas of each page of the site. In sites with more complicated template designs, the content areas of the pages and templates are interwoven such that both the templates and the content areas must be retrofitted on a page by page basis; a time consuming process. In these cases it makes more sense to wait until the website is ready for its next redesign or simply use the accessibility retrofit as an occasion for a complete redesign.


John Barclay
College of Education
Webmaster


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Quote #2

Since taking the “Universally Design Worskshop” seminar, my whole perception of what an “accessible web page”is, has changed. Before taking the seminar, the term “accessible web page” left me with a very negative connotation. As a web designer, I was sure that meant black text on a white background with no images, let alone any design features.

After taking your seminar and talking with you, I now know different! An “accessible web page” does not mean it will interfere with my “design” or how I want my page to look. By following some simple rules and maintaining the proper markup, I feel like I’m just “doing it the right way”.

It’s also been much easier than I thought, and I feel good about the fact that my web pages will now be accessible to so many more people.



Karen Edwards
Assistant Director, Design Group @Vet Med

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Quote #3

In an effort to create accessible web designs, I learned the ins and outs of CSS and web standards. The time investment in both of these areas has paid off tenfold as the sites I am creating now are more accessible and easy to maintain than ever before. Through online communities, books, presentations, etc., learning about CSS and web standards can be relatively easy and painless. Accessibility is extremely important and I glad I took the time to learn more about it.

Doug Burgett
Creative Director
Office of Communications for Enrollment Management

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Quote #4

" Developing using the CITES/DRES Web Accessibility Best Practices has allowed me to insure that my sites are stable and accessible for the widest possible audience. This investment of time and money gives my unit the greatest ROI for not only the present but also the future. These Best Practices help our pages pay for themselves by not requiring continual design overhaul."

"Using the CITES/DRES Web Accessibility Best Practices helps us get the greatest return for our web investment by guiding us through code and accessibility compliance. This insures our pages will be stable, available to the widest possible audience, and adaptable to future code and CMS requirements. Adhering to this set of Best Practice guidelines has been a very wise investment of our time and energy."

"The CITES/DRES Web Accessibility Best Practices have given me, as a web designer, a solid set of criteria whereby I can insure that my unit's web pages are cross-platform compatible, accessible, and code compliant. This gives their investment in the unit web presence the greatest possible return for both ease of maintenance and also adaptability for present and future requirements. Working with these guidelines has been time and money well spent."

Tim Offenstein

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Jon


---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 06:55:58 -0500
>From: "Bill Killam" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
>Subject: RE: [UACCESS-L] development time and accessibility
>To: "'Gregg Vanderheiden'" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >, "'Jennison Asuncion'" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >, < <EMAIL REMOVED> >, "'Equal Access to Software & Information'" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >, "'WebAIM Discussion List'" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
>
>I agree with Gregg. Remediation is much more costly than coding it
>correctly in the first place. I'm not sure the difference is even that high
>- maybe 5%.
>
>Bill
>-------------------------------------------------------
>Bill Killam, MA CHFP
>President, User-Centered Design, Inc.
>20548 Deerwatch Place
>Ashburn, VA 20147
>email: <EMAIL REMOVED>
>Work/Fax: (703) 729-0998
>Mobile: (703) 626-6318
>Web: www.user-centereddesign.com
>
>
>