Making a website accessible to all users regardless of disability or impairment is very important. This will ensure that everyone will be able to use the website?and the more people that can use a website, the better.

A properly designed website will have tools and features available for those with hearing, sight, and other impairments, so that they will be able to access and use the information as a person without any impairments. Cognitive and learning disabilities are the most often neglected in web design, but this does not make them any less important.

Websites should have the option to change the size of text, to make it larger for those who have trouble seeing. Captchas and other security devices should always have an option to listen to the text because they intentionally make text harder to read to prevent robots from leaving comments or creating accounts. Colors that contrast well should be used to aid in vision, and information placement should be carefully considered and remain consistent throughout the site.

For those with physical disabilities, tasks such as moving a mouse can be an issue. This makes it important for all information to be accessible with the keyboard, and all clickable areas should be large. Links need to be properly labeled and named so that users can tell what they need.

Videos and sounds should be captioned for those who have trouble hearing. If possible, text documents of all spoken material throughout the site, so the information can be there for those who need it.

To assist those with cognitive and learning disabilities, use a consistent design while providing a sitemap as another tool to visually grasp the depth of the website. Be sure to provide assistance with error messages and using varying color schemes to address the importance or category of information.

Bright Hub's Web Development Channel presents a series of articles on Web Accessibility. The series covers hearing impairments, visual impairments, physical disabilities, and learning or cognitive disabilities. Each article discusses ways to adjust the design to account for each of the possibilities in the user audience.

The Web Accessibility Initiative, otherwise known as the WAI, offers a set of standards web designers, developers, and business owners should use when designing a website.

Bobby Software first began in 1995, and was closed in 2005. This free tool was used to ensure websites were in compliance with the WAI. The tool was originally developed by the Centre for Applied Special Technology, also known as CAST. The name for the tool is still being used by WatchFire. For those who are interested, there is a free tool by the name of WAVE, that helps to ensure websites are WAI compliant.

Section 508 is a governmental website designed to help web designers, developers, and others learn about creating websites that are section 508 compliant and usable by everyone regardless of disability. It is designed to ensure that all federal websites and other electronic communications are available to everyone.

The Trace Center at the University of Wisconsin offers extensive information on how to design more accessible websites.

A List Apart offers many different articles that discuss web accessibility.

Mardios offers comprehensive information about Bobby website testing and compliance issues.