Areas of Expertise: Accessibility

Are You Including Everyone?

What solutions can Ripple Effect offer?

• Accessibility monitoring tools and software
• Creation and implementation of accessibility design processes for web teams and offices
• Website needs assessment
• Creation of compliant PDF, Word, and PowerPoint documents; websites; and Web applications

What is it?

Section 508, a 1998 amendment to the Federal Rehabilitation Act, mandates that electronic and information technology used by Federal agencies must be accessible to all people with disabilities.

The U.S. Access Board has issued guidelines for website accessibility. Agencies that fail to comply with these standards may be subject to legal action.

Why is this important?

Our experience has shown that Section 508 is good for industry and government and, most importantly, for people with disabilities. We work closely with federal clients and fellow technology leaders to help the government comply with the new regulations. We hope that Section 508 will encourage more competition and innovation on accessible technology, which in turn will allow an increased number of people with disabilities to find information that fulfills their needs.

Today and in the years ahead, technology has the potential to break down barriers that may have prevented people with disabilities from accessing valuable information. We are committed to helping make this vision a reality.

Some benefits of improved accessibility may be less obvious than the economic or technical ones described below. However, in an extremely competitive world marketplace, can any benefits be ignored?

What problems does this solve?

• Access for low-bandwidth users. By providing text alternatives, users with low bandwidth can view your site without downloading all the images.
• Better search engine ranking. Simply put, nontext elements such as images need text alternatives that are indexed by search engines.
• Future support for device independence. Accessibility techniques can provide an easier transition to other devices such as cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
• Improved usability. Many accessibility techniques can lead to a more usable site for users with and without disabilities.
• Increased market share. You can open up your messages and information to as much as an additional 10 percent of the population who have disabilities.