In this chapter, we have introduced web accessibility. We began by defining it and describing the different types of special needs that users of a website might have. We discussed in general terms how to cater for these different special needs.
Thereafter, we looked at the benefits of providing an accessible website, including the moral value of making your information and services available to everyone. Legal implications for non-accessible websites are increasing across the world; we briefly examined trends in this area.
We examined assistive technologies, and how to design and develop for them. Finally, we provided some guidelines about testing for accessibility.
In the next chapter, we look at how to measure accessibility with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) and how to implement WAI-ARIA roles effectively. We also examined designing for accessibility and using tools to implement accessible websites in more detail.