9.2. The Importance of Accessibility Testing

If the users of the web applications that you create cannot reasonably get to your content, it may as well not be there at all. Many developers believe that accessibility refers to code elements that can be added to an application to make it usable by people with special needs. This is one definition of accessibility, but it's a poor one. Most web applications have accessibility barriers that make it extremely difficult or near impossible for users with special needs to use them and to contribute to the web.

There are software packages out there that provide assistance to users with special needs with tools to provide better access to these sites, but those tools alone are not enough. The developers of these web applications need to follow a set of simple principles that will help these packages make web applications accessible to users with special needs.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 19.3 percent of the U.S. population has some type of disability. That's almost 1 in 5, and if you relate that to your web application traffic, 1 in 5 users may have trouble accessing your web application. For a public retail site on the Internet, that could mean a loss of revenue.

In recent years the web has became an important resource for commerce, education, employment, recreation, and many others. It is because of these types of resources found on the web that make it essential that the web be accessible to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with disabilities. Creating web applications that are accessible can dramatically improve people's lives by providing them with access to resources that people with special needs previously did not have access to. In June 2000, a Harris poll surveyed adults living in the United States with disabilities and showed that 43 percent of the people surveyed used the Internet and spent, on average, twice as long online as nondisabled adults.

Not only will creating accessible web applications help people with disabilities, accessibility can also provide benefits to people without disabilities. Creating accessible navigation elements will help with the usability of your website, and new users to your site will be able to quickly find information they are looking for. This flexibility will allow users to use their preferences when accessing your site; preferences such as keyboard shortcuts and a choice in browsers.

Other benefits of accessible websites include lower usage of bandwidth, which makes the site perform better on slower connections, and the added benefit that users with temporary disabilities such as a broken hand or temporary loss of slight will still be able to use the site. As humans age, they experience a decrease in vision, hearing, and cognitive skills. This is important to note because the amount of people considered to be elderly in the population is growing. The U. S. Census Bureau reports that roughly 1 in 5 U. S. citizens will be elderly by 2030, with the largest increase between 2010 and 2030, as the Baby Boomer generation reaches the age of 65. Figure 9-2 is a visual representation of the U.S Census Bureau data for the aging population of the United States from 1960-2050.

Figure 9-2. Elderly population growth