Information Accessibility

The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.”

(Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web)

The Web is fundamentally designed to work for all people, whatever their hardware, software, language, location, or ability. International web standards define what is needed for accessibility. When the Web meets this goal, it is accessible to people with a diverse range of hearing, movement, sight, and cognitive ability.  Thus the impact of disability is radically changed on the Web because the Web removes barriers whereas badly designed websites, applications, technologies, or tools can create barriers that exclude people from using the Web. The Web is an increasingly important resource in many aspects of life: education, employment, government, commerce, health care, recreation, and more. Therefore, making the web accessible benefits individuals, businesses, and society.

It is essential that the Web be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with diverse abilities. Access to information and communications technologies, including the Web, is defined as a basic human right in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities UNCRPD.

Making Your Website Accessible

Making Your Website Accessible

iEnterprise Web Accessibility Center

Web accessibility depends on several components working together, including web technologies, web browsers and other “user agents”, authoring tools, and websites.  The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) develops technical specifications, guidelines, techniques, and supporting resources that describe accessibility solutions. These are considered international standards for web accessibility; for example, WCAG 2.0 is also an ISO standard: ISO/IEC 40500.

iEnterprise Accessibility Team is a Recognized Designer for Hong Kong Web Accessibility Recognized Award Scheme (https://www.web-accessibility.hk/en/) providing website development, web/app accessibility consultancy and accessibility testing service to web developers and website owners. 

iEnterprise has worked closely with our technical partners, Canyou Group, Accessibility Research Association (http://www.siaa.org.cn) and Link Accessibility. We strive to promote information accessibility as a source of innovation for a sustainable and livable society.

Accessibility – Driver of Innovation

Integrating accessibility removes architectural, digital, and social barriers that can get in the way of innovation, for example:

  • Accessible design thinking provides varied and flexible ways for users to interact with websites and applications, options that are useful for people with and without disabilities.
  • Design of user interaction considers experiences other than screens when accessibility is a consideration. The result is interaction that is more human-centered, natural, and contextual.
  • Accessibility is closely related to general usability – both aim to define and deliver a more intuitive user experience.
  • Innovations like the typewriter, telephone, punch cards, text to speech, email, and voice controls were initially meant to include those with a disability, and all have found a much broader application.
  • Driverless cars, so promising for the independence of blind people, are projected to also help solve traffic fatalities and congestion.
  • Research and development of the artificial retina project to help restore sight for participants who are blind may also help future robots with real-time image-processing systems, effectively enabling them to “see.”

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The Business Case for Digital Accessibility