TIP 23

Designing Websites For Mobility or Physically Impaired People

People with mobility disabilities have physical impairments that substantially limit movement and fine motor controls, such as lifting, walking, and typing. Mobility impaired individuals experience difficulties in using the computer's input devices and in handling storage media. Solutions for persons with mobility disabilities include switches, latches, and controls that are easy to manipulate, and diskettes and media that are easy to insert and remove.

Additional solutions include alternate input capabilities, such as voice input or the ability to enter information at the user's own pace. For example, sequences of keystrokes can be typed, one at a time, rather than simultaneously as in Ctrl+Alt+Del. Many of these needs are supported by assistive technology, operating systems, and hardware platforms. Furthermore, making the Web site accessible will make it more compatible with voice input and control technologies.

Things To Remember

For people who have difficulty using their hands or whose hand/eye co-ordination is restricted, the following guidelines can improve access.

• Provision of buttons rather than text for navigation to provide a larger 'target' for links. Having said that - if you design your web pages so that the text can be resized easily there should be no need to use graphics so that you can provide a larger target.
• Clear consistent layouts and navigation.
• Don't think everybody uses a mouse
  

Remember to consider the physical access to the computer itself. If a website is being designed for use in a public kiosk, the kiosk should be accessible to wheelchair users.

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