Nearly all discussions about good website design always include the term ‘accessibility’, but just what does accessibility refer to? Accessibility in web design is all about ensuring that your web site is accessible to all potential visitors, regardless of their connection speed, web browser, or anything else. When designing your plastic surgery website, it’s important that you keep this in mind. The following are tips to help ensure that your plastic surgery website is accessible to all:
- Images should use alt tags and/or title tags for visitors browsing with their images switched off.
- Avoid marquee tags as they are only supported by Internet Explorer and visitors do use other browsers.
- Avoid or limit your use of javascript as many people browse with javascript turned off. If using javascript, use a nonscript tag and provide those without javascript with a way of using your site.
- Avoid Java applets because, again, many browse with java turned off.
- Avoid or limit your use of tables. Use only for specific data and not for entire pages.
- Avoid WAV, midi or other sound files because many people browse with their sound turned off and, further, because sound files often require visitors to download plug-ins.
- Avoid or limit your use of Flash and use only when applicable. Flash can severely slow download times.