What is Web Site Accessibility?   What is Section 508?   Our Solution   The Method

Web site accessibility strives to make sites available and usable to as many people as possible, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. Sites that are compatible work with the assistive technologies used by people who face physical challenges or other disabilities. For example, people who are blind, are severely dyslexic, or have motor control disabilities often use assistive technologies to interface with computers. These technologies include text-to-speech (TTS) devices or other screen readers, high-contrast and magnified displays, specialized Web browsers and other applications, alternate input devices, and voice-recognition software. Many traditional Web pages cannot be accessed by these devices-and thus by the people who use them-because of their syntax and design.

The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) sponsored by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has catalogued a variety of Web site accessibility concerns. The W3C created a set of accessibility standards, and divided deviations from them into Priority 1, 2, and 3 accessibility violations, with Priority 1 being the most severe. These standards have been used by the Access Board-an independent U.S. federal agency devoted to accessibility for people who are physically challenged-to determine the guidelines for Section 508 of the Amended Rehabilitation Act of 1998.

Web sites that do not adhere to the Section 508 or W3C accessibility standards are difficult for those with disabilities to use. For example, improper use of frames can cause TTS readers to jump around Web pages in a confusing manner, and pop-up windows and some animations are difficult to navigate or impossible to interpret for users who are blind or have other disabilities. Cabezon Group's software tools are designed to address accessibility violations as determined by the WAI and Section 508. To make a site accessible to assistive technologies, our tools correct improper formatting. We also provide text alternatives to new technologies such as Flash and other animation. Our tools accomplish this goal with virtually no impact on the appearance of your site for users without disabilities.

What is Section 508? >