508 Compliance

Posted by: Christopher Smith | Posted on: February 6th, 2012 | 0 Comments

Much as brick and mortar businesses are required to provide access for the disabled in the form of ramps and elongated door handles, websites that are commissioned by Federal Agencies are required to adhere to the 508 Compliance. This compliance makes it possible for the blind, deaf and other disabled people to have full access to websites. This is primarily done by incorporating what are known as “alt tags” in addition to techniques such as skip navigation and sensitive color contrast.

The 508 Compliance is particularly relevant to the public sector because many websites are designed with the aim of disseminating information to the public. Without consistent accessibility standards, many citizens would be unable to access the information.

The security of the compliance is somewhat open-ended. In the same way that federal or state rules require that a business must make itself accessible but does not necessarily specify how this should be accomplished, the 508 Compliance has a number of suggestions on how to make websites more accessible without necessarily detailing how to also add security features. The web designer or programmer is responsible for designing a web site so that it is both accessible without making it so open that hackers can easily exploit weaknesses.

As an example, using “alt tags” will not expose the site to any additional harm, although it may attract unwanted crawler bots or pingbacks depending on how the tags are named and arranged. Web designers should make sure that no machine or outside program can access sensitive information without a specific user password or other security feature.

The best way to protect against potential security violations while still keeping the site fully accessible to all is to make the initial design as clean and logical as possible. Each section should be clearly organized. Redundancies should be eliminated. Multi-media should be cleanly labeled and designed so that it can be triggered both by direct clicks and through specific keyboard commands. No site has to be dramatically altered by 508 Compliance; instead, adhering to the guidelines should help designers create a far more usable and beautiful interface for all.

Related Articles

A Designers Guide to the Accessibility and 508 Compliance (viget.com) 
Office of Federal Procurement Policy 508 Compliance (whitehouse.gov)
508 Compliance (CSEDEV.com)