We recently launched the updated VSA Arts of Vermont website. Since VSA Arts of Vermont’s mission is to make “the world of the arts accessible to Vermonters of all abilities” it was critical that their new website be accessible. This was a challenge we readily accepted as web accessibility is something we take very seriously.
Web accessibility is fairly straightforward if you take a content-first approach and focus on web standards. The real challenge is doing this and making a great looking website that doesn’t have to compromise on functionality. We accomplished this by using semantic XHTML that contains enough structure to stand on its own without any visual representation. Then, this content was stylized using CSS. Finally, some behavior was added using unobtrusive JavaScript (using jQuery). This concept is called progressive enhancement. The final result is a great looking and very functional website that is accessible to all users.
