| There are many things to consider when designing | | | | Depending on your website, these considerations |
| a website but the key, fundamental aspect should | | | | are of varying importance. Technical literacy is |
| always be accessibility for the proposed user. | | | | something that you can only go so far in |
| Without an accessible website design you can | | | | preparing for without sacrificing significant portions |
| have the best content in the world but few - if | | | | of your site after all. Plus, it's hardly likely that a |
| any - web users will ever persevere with your | | | | technology news website will be of interest to |
| interface to navigate to the pages where it's | | | | anyone who doesn't grasp the basics of computer |
| hosted. A superb flash animation is absolutely | | | | use. |
| meaningless if no one sees it after all. | | | | However when it comes to disabilities, there is a |
| Now, you may think this is fairly obvious but | | | | strong consensus online that you should endeavor |
| there are an uncountable number of websites | | | | to make a site as accessible as possible. The |
| that have been made nearly unusable by poor | | | | practice of web accessibility is widely encouraged |
| user interfaces. There are also two additional, | | | | among the design community and this movement |
| significant factors to consider with website design. | | | | has created many of the standards familiar to all |
| Firstly - the content on websites can be accessed | | | | online users. |
| by any number of software or hardware | | | | Underlining hyperlinks rather than simply coloring |
| configurations, making it much harder to be | | | | them differently, for example, was a principle |
| certain how page 'y' will be viewed by user 'x'. | | | | aimed at helping the color blind navigate online. |
| Secondly, it's a world wide web; you have to be | | | | Flashing effects are rarely used in automatic video |
| certain that your audience can actually read and | | | | or animations because of the risk it poses to a |
| understand your website. | | | | photo epileptic user. Perhaps most significantly, the |
| This second point doesn't just refer to the | | | | HTML code behind your front-end website should |
| possibility that the audience could have physical | | | | be 'semantically meaningful' - containing additional |
| disabilities such as visual impairments or poor | | | | tags and coding that will allow different browsers |
| motor functions/mobility. It also refers, partially, to | | | | to display the page in different ways. Not only |
| users who are less literate with technology. | | | | does this help with computer incompatibility, it also |
| To illustrate this with a stereotypical example, | | | | helps programmes such as text-to-speech |
| consider the difference between a 17-year old IT | | | | software work successfully, or for browsers to |
| student who has been using computers their | | | | be able to set text size according to the user |
| entire life and spends four hours a day on the | | | | preferences - or any number of different factors. |
| internet - and said student's 72 year old | | | | Ultimately, a straightforward and accessible |
| grandmother. One will grasp conventional designs | | | | front-end website design is a basic requirement |
| nearly instinctively, the other will respond better | | | | for any successful online presence. On a more |
| to clear text; one will appreciate complex designs | | | | technical level though, behind the scenes, it's about |
| and be familiar with page structures, the other will | | | | making it accessible for any level of user ability, |
| be better served by a simple and self-explanatory | | | | giving equal access to information and functionality. |
| design. | | | | |