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TOMB RAIDING INC. |
Designing websites for accessibility ensures inclusivity of people with disabilities and avoids unfair discrimination (Sloan, 2008). This entire website has passed the WAVE web accessibility evaluation tool, as well as W3C's Markup Validation Service, and has been successfully tested on a range of desktop and mobile operating systems and browsers (W3C, 2013; WebAIM, n.d.b).
One specific feature that enhances the accessibility of this website is the consistent use of alternative text for images (alt text attributes in the HRML code), which Felke-Morris (2013) notes is important for accessibility, particularly to vision impaired users relying on screen reading software to navigate websites.
Planned upgrades to make this site more accessible include:
Improving screen reader compatibility by adding "skip navigation" links at the top of the page (WebAIM, n.d.a).
Adding text descriptions or transcripts of embedded videos. This would bring the website in line with the WCAG 2.0 requirement that text alternatives must be provided for non-textual content (W3C, 2008).
Implementing CSS focus indicators, to improve usability
for low-sighted individuals (Smith, 2013).
The full implementation of the above plan may take several days to complete and test, but will make the site more inclusive and brings no disadvantages.
Having a secure website and secure severs is essential, especially when delivering paid services and e-commerce. We currently have a number of projects underway which will increase the security of this website and safeguard the privacy of our users' information.
At present, this website is entirely public and there is no need for access control to be implemented. However, a members-only area is being designed that will require an individual to enter a username and password. Although the username/password method is the most common form of access control, Guenther (2003) notes that it also come with some frustrations, including users forgetting their passwords and the resources required to manage usernames and passwords at the back-end. To increase the security of such a system, users will be required to have passwords at least eight characters (including letters, numbers and symbols) in length and change them regularly (Huckaby, 2012).
The planned members-only section will be integrated with a fully-functional online payment system. As Felke-Morris (2013) explains, e-commerce security depends on effective use of encription, such that any data intercepted would be unreadable. These measures are essential for user privacy and confidentiality. The website will also switch to using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocols (https) to send data between client's machines and our servers securely (Felke-Morris, 2013).
These proposed updates will likely be implemented over the course of several months with the consultation of web security experts. Possible disadvantages of the changes include slower webpage load times, the necessity for members to remember login details, and extra staff time spent on developing and maintaining these encrypted access control systems.
Felke-Morris, T. (2013). Web development and design foundations with HTML5 (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Guenther, K. (2003). Protecting your Web site, protecting your users. Online, 27(3), 63-66. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/
Huckaby, J. (2012). 79 Web server security tips. Rackaid. Retrieved June 1, 2013 from http://www.rackaid.com/resources/server-security-tips/
Sloan, D. (2008). The importance of web accessibility. In J. Craven (Ed.), Web accessibility: Practical advice for the library and information professional (pp. 41-56). London: Facet.
Smith, J. (2013). 10 easy accessibility tips anyone can use. WebAIM: Web accessibility in mind. Retrieved June 1, 2013 from http://webaim.org/techniques/screenreader/
W3C. (2013). Markup validation service. Retrieved June 1, 2013 from http://validator.w3.org/
W3C. (2008). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Retrieved June 1, 2013 from http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/REC-WCAG20-20081211/
WebAIM. (n.d.a). Designing for screen reader compatibility. WebAIM: Web accessibility in mind. Retrieved June 1, 2013 from http://webaim.org/techniques/screenreader/
WebAIM. (n.d.b). WAVE: Web accessibility evaluation tool. Retrieved June 1, 2013 from http://wave.webaim.org/
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Zachary Croft | zcroft@tombs.com
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