Usability is an issue for Internet users worldwide. For this reason it is vital that websites be clear, functional, and aesthetically pleasing. As Jakob Nielsen states in Usability 101: Introduction to Usability, "if a website is difficult to use, people leave"(2003). Armed with this knowledge designers are now beginning to take a user-centered design approach which should yield promising results. However, special attention needs to placed on how usability affects those who have disabilities.
Although website functionality and usability has affected us all to some degree, these difficulties are significantly magnified for those with visual, hearing, and motor impairments. To combat some of the accessibility issues that this population may face, the Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines were created. Some of the accessibility guidelines include providing frame titles, providing text equivalents for non-text elements, and utilizing other design elements other than color to indicate information.
Designers must make it a priority to develop websites and applications that will enable those with disabilities to equally access online information efficiently and with ease. People with disabilities may have an already difficult situation and need simpler ways of managing their life, not complicating it.
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