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Website accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web. More specifically, Web design accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web.

• They may not be able to see, hear, move, or may not be able to process some types of information easily or at all.
• They may have difficulty reading or comprehending text.
• They may not have or be able to use a keyboard or mouse.
• They may have a text-only screen, a small screen, or a slow Internet connection.
• They may not speak or understand fluently the language in which the document is written.
• They may be in a situation where their eyes, ears, or hands are busy or interfered with (e.g., driving to work, working in a loud environment, etc.).
• They may have an early version of a browser, a different browser entirely, a voice browser, or a different operating system.

Web sites vary in the amount of retrofitting that they need to conduct in order to ensure web accessibility. Key factors that affect this effort include the size and complexity of the website as well as the skills of the accessible web developers and the tools they utilize. Webactiv offers a comprehensive web accessibility evaluation, followed by a prioritization of issues detailing what needs to be addressed, followed by an implementation strategy.

Fixing inaccessible websites can require significant effort, especially sites that were not originally "coded" properly with standard XHTML markup, and sites with certain types of content such as multimedia.

WebActiv is one of the few companies to offer 100% W3C compliant sites:

Business benefits

• Conformance to web programming guidelines. Valid XHTML and CSS
• Conformance to web accessibility guidelines set by the W3C
• Improve search engine positioning

Accessible website design services

• Accessible web development with standard XHTML and CSS markup
• Website re-development or retro-fitting for accessibility
• Ongoing site maintenance

Accessibility review

• Images and animations: Use the alt attribute to describe the function of each visual.
• Image maps. Use the client-side map and text for hotspots.
• Multimedia. Provide captioning and transcripts of audio, and descriptions of video.
• Hypertext links. Use text that makes sense when read out of context. For example, avoid "click here."
• Page organization. Use headings, lists, and consistent structure. Use CSS for layout and style where possible.
• Graphs and charts. Summarize or use the longdesc attribute.
• Scripts, applets, and plug-ins. Provide alternative content in case active features are inaccessible or unsupported.
• Frames. Use the noframes element and meaningful titles.
• Tables. Make line-by-line reading sensible. Summarize.
• Validate. http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG