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Web Accessibility - Why it matters? The internet and the websites have been the part of our lives for quite some time. People use the world wide web not just for getting informed on something, but for everyday purposes like shopping, having fun, talking to friends, meeting new people, getting the latest news from around the world and so on. The advantages and the possibilities of the internet is endless and so, it has become a vital part in shaping our society. But, sad to say, most of the websites are not available to everyone, and everyone includes people with disabilities too. In most cases, websites overlook the disabled, making it difficult for them to access the web. There are millions who live with disabilities that include problems with eye sight, hearing problem, dyslexia or partial vision. The majority of the websites in the world wide web remains inaccessible to this large target audience. These websites deny the opportunity of the web experience to the disabled. This is not equality to everyone, a responsibility that every web designer or company overlook. Web Accessibility to everyone comes into play here, and ensures that everyone - including the disabled, is able to access the website, experience it and enjoy all the resources the web offers. The other major users who are hindered by the poorly designed website are the mobile web users. With the advanced mobile phones and technologies, accessing web sites using the phone is not just convenient - it is the easiest way. In the world wide web, not many websites have been updated or optimized for all mobile phones. In the present situation, there are a large number of ways to access the web, starting from the office computer to the latest mobile phone. The applications used to access the website also differs - web browsers, email clients, news readers, podcast feed readers, podcasts and so on. The fact that a vast number of people in the world can't access all the resources is a pity, although the technology has been grown a lot. The major operating systems include special accessibility tools to help the users to access the computers. The latest mobile phone too have options to help the disabled use the phone and the web based tools. The web users experience should be enhanced and every user has to be given equal opportunities - this sounds fair. The corporate companies should take care of this fact while designing the websites. Maintaining a website accessible to everyone is not tough, although many web designers and companies ignore this fact. By doing this, they are ignoring the huge revenue they would have got if they had a better design. In addition to the money it generates, it is a service, a responsibility. The W3C has started a Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) to take care of these matters. They have a set of guidelines, techniques and strategies to make the web accessible to everyone. With proper guidelines and awareness, the web designers, developers and testing team can help make the world wide web a better place.
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