In order to make your content accessible you must

• use good keywords to support search engins
• write for international users
• plan for users with disabilities

Use Good Keywords

Keywords help search engines find your site by explaining what your site is about. If users can't find your site, it won't matter how useful or elegant it is.

A partial keywords tag for the Acme seed company might look like this:

<META name=keywords content="seeds, mail order, annuals, sun annuals, shade annuals, perennials, Acme, bulbs, vegetables, herbs, gardening accessories, plant accessories, seed-starting equipment, lawn statues, statuary, garden statues, African Daisy, African Daisy Glistening White, African Daisy Mix, African Violet Classic Hybrids Mix, African Violet Fantasy Hybrid Teacup, African Violet Fantasy Hybrid Trailing, Ageratum Leilani Blue, Amaranthus Hot Biscuits">

A description of the Acme site, for search engines to display in their results, might look like this:

<META name=description content="Acme Seeds provides a wide selection of annual, perennial, herb, and vegetable seeds for gardens, along with gardening supplies, lawn ornaments, and gardening tips">

Write for an International Audience

Websites can be accessed by people all over the world.

To make your site more accessible for international users:

• Keep the language simple. Avoid idioms, jargon and humor.
• Keep sentences simple. Subject-verb-object syntax is the easiest for non-native speakers to understand.
• Express quantities in a universal format if possible. (Remember that most of the world uses the metric system.)

  For example, write out dates (November 20, 2004) rather than abbreviating them (Americans would write 11-20-04, while Europeans would write 20-11-04).

Plan for Users with Disabilities (Accessibility Guidelines):

Using the Web can be difficult for users with disabilities. But you can make it easier by planning your content to accommodate screen readers. You can also help users with motor disabilities by making your link targets and other clickable items larger.

• Use the HTML "alt" tag to provide a simple text description of all graphics, images, or icons. Keep these text descriptions brief and check to see if they make sense out of context. Also describe the function of each graphic, if appropriate. Summarize key content of graphs and charts using the "longdesc" attribute.
• Provide detailed text descriptions for visual content (for example, a chart or diagram) or auditory content.
• Provide text equivalents or at least detailed descriptions for multimedia content.
• Consider providing non-text equivalents of text for nonreaders or users who have difficulty reading.
• If you have image links, make sure you've included text alternatives.
• Make sure link text makes sense when read out of context. (Many screen readers allow users to tab through the links on a page, so that only the link text is read.)
• Make sure links are big enough for users with impaired sight or reduced mobility (such as older users).
• Avoid blinking or moving text. Such text is less usable for most users, but it can be especially hard for users with disabilities and is impossible for most screen readers.
• Use headings, lists, and consistent structure for page content. Use style sheets where possible.
• Use row and column headers even for tables used as formatting devices, to make table content more understandable when accessed through screen readers. Remember that screen readers will read tables line by line.
• Avoid frames. If you can't, provide a "noframes" alternative.
• Provide links to download any plug-ins that may be required to view your content. Provide alternatives for plug-ins that may not be supported by assistive technologies.

Next >> Usability Analysis