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Accessible Web Design

• AccessVT
• Access Policies
• Standards and Guidelines
• Tools and Training
• Support Services

Tools and Training

How to get started.
These pages are for web developers and content providers creating accessible websites. Tools include university licensed software and other resources for website development. Accessibility training features various sources for instructor-led training, consulting, on-line tutorials with coding references, articles, and book repositories for additional reading.

How to obtain software from Virginia Tech:

The university maintains a variety of up-to-date software products for university employees and students. Software that can be directly obtained by individuals is located online at the Software Distribution Office. When software must be purchased by a department for a university employee, it will only be found at the Information Technology Acquisitions (ITA) Departmental Software website.

Web authoring and development tools:

This section describes the more popular authoring and development tools that can be purchased from ITA. Instructor-led training classes offered by the university also support this software.

• Adobe Dreamweaver
  Dreamweaver is a web authoring tool that enables users to design, develop, and maintain websites and applications.
• Adobe Acrobat
  Acrobat enables individuals to reliably create, combine, and control Adobe PDF documents for easy distribution, collaboration, and data collection.
• Adobe Photoshop
  Photoshop is digital imaging software with efficient editing, processing, and file handling features that are used increasingly to produce images for the World Wide Web.

Markup Validation. Accessibility Evaluation, Captioning, and Repair Tools

This section lists an array of low or no-cost accessibility validation, evaluation, and repair tools from Virginia Tech and other external websites on the Web.

• AccVerify Professional is a comprehensive toolset for validating and repairing the accessibility, quality, privacy, and usability of web sites. AccVerify Professional product components, which are licensed from HiSoftware (http://www.hisoftware.com) by Virginia Tech include:

  * AccVerify 10 with AccRepair 10 (2005)
  * Hi-Caption (Studio)
  * Link Validation Utility
  * AutoUpdater
  

  Note: Installation and support instructions for AccVerify Professional are different from the installation documentation located at HiSoftware. For more information, please read the entire Install Hisoftware Guide by Virginia Tech after downloading the product. Hisoftware products are for Windows operating systems only.

  AccVerify and AccRepair support standards-based accessibility validation (Section 508, WCAG 1.0), automated repairs, and custom testing in a variety of reporting formats. Hi-Caption enables users to caption a variety of multimedia formats. This includes using SAMI files with Windows Media Player, RealText or SMIL with RealPlayer and QuickTime Text. Link Validation Utility can create a complete site inventory by identifying information on site size, file types, active or orphaned links, mail links, and links to third party sites. Link Validation can also help fix broken links, broken anchors, and other site defects. AutoUpdater allows you to download the latest maintenance and minor releases for licensed HiSoftware products at your convenience.

• Media Access Generator (MAGpie) NCAM at WGBH.org
  National Center for Accessible Media - This software generator for captioning and audio descriptions can be used on rich media (QuickTime | RealPlayer). MAGpie works on Windows or MAC OS X.

W3C Quality Assurance Tools, Website Checker, and Firefox Accessibility Extension

• W3C HTML Validator
  The W3C Markup Validation Service is a free service that checks Web documents in formats like HTML and XHTML for conformance to W3C recommendations and other standards.
• W3C CSS Validator
  This W3 service checks Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and (X)HTML documents with style sheets. CSS can be checked from an URL, a local file, or by direct input of CSS you want validated.
• W3C Link Checker
  This W3C checker searches for anchors (hyperlinks) in a HTML/XHTML document in order to discover broken or orphaned links.
• Check Your Web Site at Check Your Web Site by Craig Cecil
  This site has many links to well known organizations with free or open source tools for website testing. Users decide whether to use the tools directly from the website or go to the originating site. Additionally, Craig Cecil's home page has links for building and checking websites, standards and practices, books, and articles.
• Mozilla/Firefox Accessibility Extension from the Illinois Center for IT Accessibility (iCITA)
  iCITA's Firefox extension makes it easier for developers to review structural and styling markup that supports functional web accessibility. People with disabilities can also better navigate and view web content using the extension.

Instructor-Led Training and Consulting

Virginia Tech offers a variety of short courses on web authoring and development tools and accessible web design through the Faculty Development Institute and University Leadership Development. The New Media Center in Torgersen Hall also offers walk-in consulting services on a wide range of authoring and development tools.

• Faculty Development Institute (FDI) provides support university-wide for training faculty and others to meet the modern need of integrating technology, such as accessible web design, into the university's infrastructure for teaching and learning.
• University Leadership Development (ULD) is positioned to serve as a key resource for improving the leadership skills, organizational effectiveness and efficiency of Virginia Tech employees through the design and delivery of training programs and certifications.
• New Media Center (NMC) offers members of the Virginia Tech community access to digital video equipment, multimedia hardware devices, and use of software authoring and development tools, such as Adobe Dreamweaver, Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator, and others. For multimedia tools and consulting services, visit the New Media Center in 1140 Torgersen Hall.

Virginia Tech On-Line Tutorials and Book Repositories

• The Software Skills Gateway hosts Element K with over 600 interactive tutorials, some of which address web design concepts, authoring and development tools, and other multimedia software. Books and courses are also available on technical subjects such as programming languages, system administration, and networking.
• Safari Books Online [University Libraries]
  Technical reference books are available online through the University Libraries lib.vt.edu. Books can be read online by university employees and students with a Virginia Tech PID. These books cover technical subjects that include web design, authoring tools, and development techniques.
  
  Due to Safari Book's popularity, users may be unable to gain access at times and need to try again later. Off-campus users can go to the library proxy server, at https://ezproxy.lib.vt.edu:2443/login, to access this site when not using Virtual Private Network (VPN).

External Resources: Web Markup References, Access Articles, and Tutorials

• HTML/XHTML Markup and CSS References, and Tutorials at W3schools.com
  A searchable online reference for HTML/XHTML and CSS with basic tutorials and coding examples for novices.
• WebAIM Articles and Tutorials at WebAIM.org
  An outline of articles and tutorials by Web Accessibility In Mind (WebAIM). Below are some articles that address common questions about web accessibility practices.
• Designing for Screen Reader Compatibility at WebAIM.org
• Skip Navigation - Links at WebAIM.org
• Appropriate Use of Alternative Text at WebAIM.org
• Keyboard Accessibility at WebAIM.org
• Creating Accessible Tables at WebAIM.org
• Guidelines: WAI Web Content Accessibility Curriculum at W3C.org
  A basic self-study course on using the W3C guidelines by Chuck Letourneau and Geoff Freed from the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).