April 19, 2019 Points for Consideration Before Using an Accessibility Check Tool

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

The above are the words of Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web.

Nowadays websites have a variety of purposes. They serve as digital marketing platforms, provide a space through which to communicate with clients, and facilitate business transactions through ecommerce sites etc.

According to Tim Berners-Lee, the intrinsic value of the web itself is that everyone should be able to have access to its information. Therefore, from among the various qualities that a website should possess, we, at Mitsue-Links, believe accessibility to be the most important.

While accessibility may be the most important quality, we often hear concerns around actual approaches to implementation.

Aside from specific execution methods, measures should be taken to prevent any unintentional quality loss through management and operation. In other words, when commencing work on web accessibility, the prospects for continuous support should be also considered.

To do this, firstly, a common understanding of the importance of web accessibility as a quality should be established among concerned persons. Without doing this, securing longer-term, continuous web accessibility will be more challenging.

Devising a means to realize continuous efforts comes next. There are guidelines, such as the WCAG and Japan's JIS X 8341-3, which can both be employed as measures to guide web accessibility. Furthermore, of the many items requiring accessibility verification, there is the possibility implement more efficient inspection through use of an audit tool which reduces the need for manual checking.

The benefits of using an audit tool for verification are numerous, especially for organizations that manage large websites.

We've partnered with the US firm Deque Systems (hereafter Deque), a well-established web accessibility audit tool vendor, and have translated their WorldSpace Comply tool's interface into Japanese for our local market. At our Accessibility Audit Tool Implementation Seminar 2019, which will be held on Thursday June 20, we'll welcome Mike Farrell, of Deque, who will explain the importance of implementing continuous accessibility verification using the tool, furthermore, a demonstration of WorldSpace Comply will allow participants to see the tool in operation.

So, if you're having issues with implementing a continuous approach to web accessibility or struggling with correct use of guidelines, etc. this seminar will offer solutions. The seminar will also provide information on audit tool introduction and tips for a continuous approach to web accessibility. Furthermore, if you're interested in our company or seek any advice on accessibility topics, you're also more than welcome to attend. However, please note that while Mike Farrell will speak in English, his speech will be translated to Japanese by an interpreter. All other seminar content will be spoken/written in Japanese without English interpretation. We await your participation.