Web Site Accessibility Blog

I downloaded IBM’s (AlphaWorks) aDesigner a few weeks ago as a way of testing access to a few of the company’s web sites. Building an accessibility initiative into an eight-year old web design/development company is an undertaking. Like going to the gym after a couple years away, it causes some soreness as you go back to working out those long-forgotten mucles, but you know that it’s good for you.

Within days of giving aDesigner a test drive, I started with a new client who was going to be developing a new web site. In discussing the design, he informed me that he was severely colorblind, so colors really won’t matter to him. Needless to say, I was surprised, I never would have guessed. However, I now realized why his old site was so utilitarian.

I got the first design from the artist, and I gave aDesigner its first real-world test. I loaded up the jpg image of the homepage, set the simulator to a specific color-blindness setting (to simulate this specific person’s view) and I was amazed at the difference. Seeing a side-by side comparison, we were able to quickly identify the elements of the design that did not have enough contrast and where visual color cues would not work.

Because of this, we revised the design to increase the accessibility before presenting the site to the owner. I also asked the artist to install the program, as they would also be able to see for themselves what the site owner would see. This is such an effective tool, as those with good vision can now see what others see, rather than just hearing about it or getting instructions by email. We are now running all new designs through aDesigner, and our currently testing our existing sites.

aDesigner also has settings for screen reader simulation, so that you can measure the load time before a screen reader will start reading and the flow of information. At an agreeable price point $99 USD, this should be a requirement for any designer.