Web Standards Are Not Web Accessibility
By Molly E. Holzschlag | September 20th, 2003 | Filed in Accessibility
Skip to comment formIn response to the recent BBC accessibility BUZZ, Isofaro writes: “To meet level A priority does not require a completely valid website, and does not require CSS for layout.”
All true.
The WasP on BBC Accessibility critique is very thorough and worth a read as it delves more deeply into the fine lines and wrinkles between what is a Web standard and what is accessibility. The differences in both concept and technique are important to note.
Still, there can be no argument that following standards, especially in terms of creating structured, valid markup and removing presentational elements and attributes from a document makes that document inherently more accessible.
Best practices in document authoring means writing conforming documents that are also accessible. These practices are interdependent, even if they have exclusive features.