Virginia Disability Services Agencies
Web Accessibility Resources
Introduction
Web accessibility is a means to access the Web by everyone, regardless of disability or other access restrictions. Web accessibility includes: people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with web sites and applications; tools and other resources can be used effectively by people with disabilities, and to work well with assistive technologies that some people with disabilities use to access the Web; that support production of accessible Web content and Web sites, and that can be used effectively by people with disabilities.
There are several reasons why Web accessibility is important:
- there are barriers on the Web for many types of disabilities;
- millions of people have disabilities that affect access to the Web;
- some Web sites are required to be accessible;
- Web accessibility also has carry-over benefits for other users.
Accessibility: It's About People
Many WAI resources cover the organizational, technical, and standards aspects of accessibility.
The Web Accessibility Initiative has a list of resources to help you understand the people aspects
The resources below will point you to tools and reference materials to help you determine your current compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2 and to help remediate any issues with your sites. The Federal standard for WCAG 2.0 includes the stipulation that electronic documents, presentations, postings on social media, blogs, and even emails be made accessible.
All Virginia Commonwealth executive branch agency websites, and the content they contain, must meet current standards for accessibility. At a minimum, this means being compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1973, and with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2 Checklist.
