Links to other useful Accessibility resources

In addition to the valuable resources provided by Web Development and ICS Disability Support, here are some resources we've found to be particularly useful in supporting accessible Web design.

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Books
Accessibility Guidelines
Training resources
Accessibility-focussed Web sites
The Law and Accessibility
Web Authoring Tools and Technologies
Assistive Technologies and Simulators
Checking and Validation Tools

Books

The nature of the fast-paced development of the Web as a technology and social space means that books on web design can go out of date rather quickly. So generally something newer is more likely to be up to date and less likely to contain obsolete information; and we'll try to keep this list as up to date as possible! However many principles of accessible design still hold strong after many years, so we list below some of the current and past classic texts on web accessibility, and more generally best practice in web design.

Universal Design for Web Applications: Web Applications That Reach Everyone - Wendy Chisholm and Matt May (2008), O'Reilly. ISBN-10: 0596518730.
Web Accessibility: Practical Advice for the Library and Information Professional - Jenny Craven (ed) (2008), Facet. ISBN-10: 1856046257.
Build Your Own Web Site The Right Way Using HTML & CSS, 2nd Edition - Ian Lloyd (2008) Sitepoint. ISBN 10: 0980455278.
Web Accessibility: Web Standards and Regulatory Compliance - Jim Thatcher, Michael R. Burks, Christian Heilmann, Andrew Kirkpatrick, Patrick H. Lauke, Bruce Lawson, Shawn Lawton Henry, Bob Regan, Richard Rutter, Mark Urban, Cynthia Waddell. (2006), Friends of Ed. ISBN-10: 1590596382.
Building Accessible Web Sites - Joe Clark (2003), New Riders. ISBN 073571150X.
Maximum Accessibility - John Slatin and Sharron Rush. (2002) Addison Wesley. ISBN: 0201774224.
Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities - Mike Paciello (2000), CMP Books. ISBN 1-929629 - 08-7.
Designing with Web Standards - Jeffrey Zeldman (2003) New Riders ISBN: 0735712018.
Designing Web Usability - Jakob Nielsen (1999). New Riders. ISBN 1-56205-810-X.

And a special mention for a book from Graham Pullin, School of Computing, that will not teach you how to write accessible and usable web pages, but does provide a thought-provoking and inspiring look at how considering disability can enrich the design process: Design Meets Disability - Graham Pullin (2009), MIT Press. ISBN-10: 0262162555.

Accessibility Guidelines

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) have published a suite of guidelines which together promote web accessibility. These guidelines cover web content, the tools used to create the content, and the tools used to access the content.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) - version 2 of the most well-known guidelines. WCAG covers accessibility of web page content.
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidlines (ATAG) - covering software (including web interfaces) that support the creation of web content - so this includes social networking web sites, virtual learning environments, content management systems, blogs, wikis and so on.
User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) - covering browsers and assistive technologies used by people to access web pages.

Other guidelines include:

IMS Guidelines for Developing Accessible Learning Applications - guidelines on accessible e-learning resource design.
PAS 78 - Guide to Good Practice in Commissioning Accessible Web sites - a resource for commissioners (not developers) to follow when procuring or commissioning web sites. Published by the British Standards Institute.

Web Accessibility Training resources

Opera Web Standards Curriculum - a detailed introduction to best practice in web design, including several modules on accessibility.
Web Standards Project: Interact - another collection of training resources in standards-based web design, including some accessibility-specific modules.
Open University Accessibility of eLearning - a training module from the OU dedicated to accessibility, the web and e-learning resource design.

Accessibility-focussed Web sites

Accessify.com - information, tools, plus access to a popular discussion forum.
Digital Media Access Group.
Dive into Accessibility - a very useful introduction to the concepts of web accessibility.
Guild of Accessible Web Designers.
International Centre for Disability Resources on the Net (ICDRI).
Jim Thatcher and Joe Clark- the web sites of two noted accessibility experts.
Juicy Studio - an accessibility blog and some very useful tools for developers.
National Centre for Accessible Media - focus on multimedia and accessibility, including access to advice and tools for making web video more accessible.
RNIB Web Access Centre - the Royal National Institute for Blind people's web accessibility resource centre.
Skills for Access - a resource focused on multimedia, e-learning and accessibility, co-developed by Digital Media Access Group.
Teachability - focusing on creating accessible curricula for disabled students.
Techdis - the UK tertiary education community's advisory service for disability, technology and learning.
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative - alongside the W3C's accesibility guidelines, there are numerous additional resources focusing on all aspects of web accessibility.
WebAIM - Web Accessibility in Mind - a very useful and comprehensive collection of resources on web accessibility from a project based at Utah State University, including advice on accessibility and multimedia, PDF, and Flash.

The Law and Accessibility

Equality and Human Rights Commission - Legislation - access to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and 2005.
Scottish Disability Team - DDA Resources. Resources on disability rights legislation, provided to the tertiary education sector in Scotland.
SKILL - National Bureau for Students with Disabilities.

Web Authoring Tools and Technologies

Adobe Accessibility Resource Center - accessibility advice for Adobe and Macromedia products, including PDF and Flash.
Blackboard Accessibility: http://www.blackboard.com/company/accessibility.aspx (Update 10 Sep 2007: This page information on Blackboard accessibility has been removed from Blackboard's web site, and there doesn't seem to be an easy to find, publicly available alternative...).
Microsoft Accessibility - advice on accessibility and Microsoft products, including Windows accessibility.

Assistive Technologies and Simulators

JAWS (screen reader).
Lynx (text only browser).
Supernova (screen reader and screen magnifier).
NVDA screen reader - a free screen reader that can run from a USB drive.
Vischeck.com (colour blindness simulator).
Window Eyes (screen reader).

Checking and Validation Tools

Accessify.com - tools and wizards - a selection of tools to support accessible Web design.
Colour Contrast Analyser - a free downloadable tool which can compare contrast between foreground and background colours.
TAW (Web Accessibility Test) - an online or downloadable version of an excellent accessibility checking tool.
Web Accessibility Toolbar for Internet Explorer - a collection of very useful tools for supporting web page evaluation using Internet Explorer.
W3C MarkUp Validation Service - for checking the validity of a web page's HTML.
WAVE - another useful accessibility checking tool, which visually identifies potential barriers on a page.
Web Accessibility Checker - a free downloadable accessibility checking tool from the University of Toronto.
Web Developer Toolbar for Firefox - a collection of very useful tools for supporting web page evaluation using Firefox.

Other Useful Sites

A List Apart - respected online magazine providing regular articles on best practice in web design.
Boagworld.com web design podcasts - regular podcasts on all aspects of good web design, from accessibility and usability to effective web marketing.
The Web Standards Project - campaigning for greater usage of cross-browser standards in web design, including accessibility.
Useit.com - usability guru Jakob Nielsen publishes regular articles on web usability.

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