Metropolitan State University

ICS 225 Web Design and Development

Critique: 4

Concept: Accessibility

Due: Monday, Nov. 27

Points: 30 points

Assignment:

Test web pages from three websites using an automatic checking program that evaluates accessibility.  One of the web pages should be from a commercial site (.com); another must be from your own website. The other is your choice.

For each of the three different sites:

• Give the URL of the site to be evaluated. 
• Use the Web Xact tool found at http://webxact.watchfire.com/ to evaluate the way accessibilty is handled. Enter the URL of a web page. Be sure to include the full path name since Web Xact is picky about the URLs given to it. When the results are displayed, click on the Accessibility tab. (If Web Xact times out you may need to try again when the site or the Internet is less busy.)
• Describe and explain the types of accessibility problems detected, commenting on the Priority 1, 2 and 3 errors as reported by Web Xact.

• Suggest steps for rectifying the problems you've identified with the web pages.
• Compare and contrast the accessibility of the three sites. What do they have in common? What are the differences?

From a business standpoint, why is accessibility important?

From a legal standpoint, why is accessibility important?

Overall, what is the state of web accessibility on the Internet? Explain your answer.

Hand In:

Hand in a typed, single-spaced report of minimum length two pages (a minimum of 1400 words). Use 12 pt Times Roman font or 10 pt Arial font with 1-inch margin.

EXTRA CREDIT (5 points)

Download the Lynx browser and evaluate the appearance of your own site when viewed using Lynx. Minimum length one-half page.