Introduction
I have recently discovered the importance of creating accessible and standards compliant websites. This is mostly due to browsing the CSS Zen Garden and reading the wonderful Designing with Web Standards, as well as researching the subject on a number of other websites. In fact, I modeled this very Accessibility Statement on that of Dave Shea, creator of CSS Zen Garden. This version of DJR.com is the first to jump on the accessibility bandwagon. That worries me a little bit, as sometimes I wonder whether the content of my site should be accessible to as few people as possible, not as many people.
Standards Compliance
Valid XHTML
I have made serious efforts to create accurate, efficient and standards-compliant XHTML code that will make my site accessible to as many people as possible. As of this writing, all pages are authored in XHTML 1.0 Strict, and validate as such. Check this page for validity.
This is not to say that there is no room for improvement. I am continuously working to simplify the code, utilize semantic markup, and eliminate cases of classitis and divitis where valid XHTML will do. Not to mention that everything on this webpage was hand-coded, leaving much room for typos and general mistakes. If you happen to stumble upon an error, please report it to me.
Valid CSS
Finally escaping the horrors of the table layout, DJR.com now uses Cascading Style Sheets for all visual design purposes. Having recently learned the benefits of CSS layouts, I have striven to create clean CSS, although I'm sure I could simplify it a touch. And naturally, the CSS all validates real nice-like.
Section 508 and WCAG Priority 1
I have reviewed the guidelines of the U.S. Government's Section 508 quite carefully and made a serious effort to comply. Pages pass Cynthia's Section 508 Automatic Verification, but many standards are ambiguous and can only be judged by a human. I believe that pages either comply with Section 508 and WCAG Priority 1 or get damn close to it.
Although the site utilizes a visual stylesheet that enhances browsing (unless you think it's ugly and user-unfriendly), successful browsing and navigation is hardly ever dependent on color or solely visual clues. There is also a super duper link at the top of every page that skips (access key: S) to the its content for those that want to get down to business.
I have chosen to follow WCAG Priority 2 Guideline of using a Quote element to define quotations with full knowledge that Internet Explorer does not include quotation marks although it should. To assist users of Internet Explorer, I have separated quotations by making them a sepia color. Although I believe this does not fully comply with Section 508, it is necessary in creating fully standards compliant and semantic markup.
I have attempted to name links appropriately so that they may be understood out of context. All images that help the understanding of content are given meaningful alternate text.
It is important to note at this point that some pages do not comply to Section 508 at the sake of content accuracy. The most prevalent problem is of identical text linking to different pages. It is possible for a page to link to different works of mine that have the same title (for example, "Still Life"). They would therefore have identical links, differentiated only by context, but never solely visual clues.
Benefits
The Advantages of Semantic Markup
An important, yet oft' forgotten guideline is to use XHTML the way it was intended to be used. Now I don't pretend to be best friends with Mr. Tim Berners-Lee, but can tell you that I have pulled out all the stops to use semantic markup that actually reflects the page's content. All pages on this site use proper headings (<h1>, <h2>, <h3> and descriptive code , etc.) to create an informative document structure. By separating the content's markup from its display, I don't waste time fudging displays with non-data tables and <font> tags.
Most importantly, all of the content of this website can be displayed flexibly and more-or-less accurately in a myriad of different ways:
Older Browsers and Text Browsers
Older Browsers that do not support fancy-shmancy CSS still see all the content on the page, and probably see it in a manner that is more suitable to their liking. Without the stylesheet, the content of the page is displayed in a simple linear fashion with all hypertext links the default colors. Simple and backwards-compatible.
Handheld and Cell Phone Browsers
Handhelds and smaller devices that simply cannot handle the 750-pixel-wide glory of the default site see a linear layout that is more appropriate to their medium. While table layouts may confuse our little friends, this baby should fit in your pocket just fine.
Screen Readers and Non-Mouse Inputs
Some that are visually impaired or otherwise disabled use screen readers to browse the web. I am committed to creating semantic markup that will make it easy for screen readers to understand my page. As mentioned above, there is a skip to navigation link on the top of every page so that you don't have to listen to the same ol' navigation on every single page (hit Alt/Option + S to try it out!). In addition, I am making attempts to implement to some degree the tabindex element to assist those not using a mouse.
Scalable Layout
Many that are visually impaired do not use Screen Readers, but browse websites set to a larger font. Although the default version of this layout is not fluid (it does not expand and contract with the type), this site has been designed to scale both up and down without totally self-destructing. A style switcher to automatically scale the site is coming soon.
Until technology gets a whole lot cooler than it is now, there is undoubtedly a difference between a piece of paper and a screen. Therefore, when printed, my site has a stylesheet that displays all of the content in a manner appropriate for the printed page.
and More...
In addition to being backwards-compatible, I would classify this website as being forwards-compatible. By striving for clean and meaningful code, I hope to be able to move the site along with the progress of technology, being able to implement new features for those who support them without penalizing those who don't.