Drupal® 7 Bible

Chapter 34. Making an Accessible Site

IN THIS CHAPTER

• What is accessibility?

• Drupal and accessibility

Studies have found that up to 1 in 10 persons have some trouble viewing content or interacting with Web sites. Making your site accessible to everyone should be your goal. Accessibility is not simply a matter of best practice; in some jurisdictions, it is a matter of right. In North America, for example, the right to access has been the subject of legislation and is codified in Section 508 of the federal law of the United States. In Web design circles, the standards are outlined by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, also known as WCAG. Drupal provides a solid foundation for creating accessible sites, but the decisions you make as the site developer or Webmaster have a great impact on the final result.

In this chapter, I introduce the concept of accessibility and explain the issues of concern that relate to Drupal and accessibility. The chapter also covers the basics of maintaining accessibility through proper theming and content creation.

What Is Accessibility?

Accessibility is concerned with making a Web site available to people of varying abilities and disabilities. Success is measured by the extent to which the largest number of users can gain access to the contents and functionalities of your Web site. While all Web designers should be concerned with accessibility, for many government and corporate Web sites, accessibility compliance is not optional. ...