Building Accessible Websites

Am I the only one who finds the cover art to be a bit... questionable?

Joe Clark's detractors are the sort of critics who would gleefully detract from anyone who shows the poor taste to believe what they say and say what they mean. It's far easier to construct a rambling, nattering bleat of discontent than it is to actually write a book on web accessibility.The book is structured to support multiple levels of interest and involvement. If you want to understand the entire history of web accessibility, it's there for the reading, but if you'd prefer to skip the narrative and get to the nitty-gritty how-to, the road signs are clear. In addition, the tools are there for proficiency levels from the first-time web designer who is willing and able to contribute only 101% toward accommodating the disabled to the veteran developer for whom 200% is still insufficient.Clark makes it clear that not everyone is so well-informed, so esoteric, and so single-minded as he; nor should they be. He merely makes it possible to try. Accommodating, flexible, and wry -- much like the best of the Web -- "Building Accessible Websites" is as many things to as many people as such a book could possibly be.

I think that many people tend to avoid dealing with disable people and to what relates to disabilities.When I bought that book, I was not sure I would have the courage to read it entirely. Sure, web content accessibility is important, but I thought it would be boring to learn. I was wrong. Joe Clark manages to make his reading very interesting, very enjoyable. I have read the book in less time I initially thought, because I have been learning stuff on every page, and I did it with a smile on my face. I am now working on an accessibility policy for my web site, retrofitting most of my existing pages to make them accessible, thanks to what I've learned in this book.

'Building accessible websites' was a pleasure to read, and I was particularly pleased to see that Joe Clark takes a critical look at the W3C/WAI guidelines. Many accessibility advocates quote the guidelines without considering why they should take this approach or what the consequences of the guidelines are.Too many people still think of accessibility as a subject for and by people who have to be pitied. Joe Clark takes a good visual design as the starting point for an accessible site, which has made me very enthusiastic in my work (building websites) once again. I hope that this book will start a movement to make ever more people enthusiastic about building accessible AND beautiful sites.

Building Accessible Websites is a stunning book. Accessibility is not an afterthought anymore. It is a vital component of the World Wide Web for Personal, Professional and Commercial websites. This book is not a theoretical discussion about the right thing to do, but a compelling guide to techniques and practices to enhance the ability of websites to convey their messages.With concrete code examples not only as a how to, but why they are important by browser, technology and display, Joe guides you through the minefield of what works, what doesn't, and offers you suggestions to add value to what you do.From how the disabled use computers, through structure, navigation, to testing and certification, Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced methods of creating or adding accessibilty to your websites are clearly provided.Joe Clark presents a powerful and relentless case for accessibility that needs to be read by every practitioner of website building.