Website Accessibility Presentation and Clinic

Date and time: Thursday May 24, 2018 1:00 - 4:00 PM

Location: Last Call Media, 136 West St. Suite 01 Northampton, MA 01060 

The event is free, however seating is limited to 20 people, so please register HERE. 

Have you wondered if your website is accessible but don’t know where to start? Join us for a half-day interactive workshop where we provide a quick introduction to the layers of accessibility and then jump into a clinic, which is an opportunity for you to do an evaluation of your site using tools introduced. Based on the exercise, folks will determine the most critical accessibility errors found (if any), and leave with recommendations for implementing fixes.

Website accessibility is a topic that is getting more attention, both from people who create code and build sites and from people who are in the market for website development services. While the interest in building accessible sites has arisen in part from a need for some organizations to comply with federal regulations in order to satisfy funding requirements, other organizations have embraced accessibility as a way to make their message available to a broader population. 

This presentation will provide a quick introduction to the layers of guidance in the WCAG 2.0 framework and also take a look at what is on the horizon with WCAG 2.1, which is scheduled for release in June. We’ll look the differences between Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act in terms of their treatment of web accessibility. We’ll also look at the differences between an Accessibility Statement and a WCAG Conformance Claim. 

There are many resources available for evaluating accessibility, and choosing the best one depends on your role and expertise. After the overview of the technical and legal aspects of accessibility, I’ll share some of my favorite tools and strategies for evaluating sites. The presentation will focus on ways to to evaluate site accessibility rather than specific coding practices for making sites accessible. However, coding tips, tricks and best practices based on personal experiences can be shared by participants during the discussion if there is interest. 

After the presentation, we will take a break and then move into the clinic. If you are the owner or maintainer of a website, the clinic is an opportunity for you to do an evaluation of your site using tools described in the presentation. This is a great way to get started on preparing an Accessibility Statement for your own site.  

Register here.