Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): In 1990 the Federal Government passed the ADA. This was a clear statement by Congress that employers must not discriminate on the basis of disability.

Interface design can be made easily for users on the Web; however interface design can be even overpowering to novice Web site users depending on their abilities. As author Jakob Nielson invokes, "[people] with disabilities can be liberated by well designed sites" (226). Nielson further explains that disabilities on Web sites can just be a matter of removing obstacles for the user to maneuver easily around.

One of the most common usability issues with Web sites is the ability to effectively read text on the Web. Even people without any visual impairment still find it somewhat difficult, so allowing the user to “bump-up” the text size is an important factor. Commonly, this type of coding with CSS is a fluid, liquid, or flexible type interface, meaning using em’s rather than absolute text properties for entering text, which Dan Cederholm, author of Bulletproof Web Design, discusses in many of his interviews. Implementing this type of user control is very advantageous for the designer/developer in a direct manner because users would stay on the site longer, thus making the site successful. On his site (SimpleBits.com) Cederholm points to two popular sites that have already put forth the ADA changes. He mentions that people who use screen reading software and other assistive technology can effectively use Priceline.com and Ramada.com because of their awareness of accessibility. In fact, Jakob Nielson plainly states in The Rule of Relative Size, “Creating pixel-perfect layouts is futile” (227).


Jakob Nielson also says alternate routes to accessibility can be useful. In his book, Prioritizing Web Usability, he explains: “For users with hearing disabilities, offer a textual alternative to audio, and optional subtitles for video. Visually impaired users can still use your site if you provide a text-to-voice option that will read content aloud for them” (359). Old computers get handed down or given to institutions, for example, to supplement the need for Internet use at government, local government, or certain public sectors. A lot of these computers cannot handle the new technological advances that current computers use today. For instance, instructional videos might only have voice-relayed information, so the need for a text version as an option can help immensely. Also regarding sound, a lot of multimedia these days requires plug-ins that older computers cannot handle into their systems; because of this poor communication between the user and the site develops. Purely thinking from a users standpoint the possibility of older computers are still in existence today, therefore knowing this can make a reliable use of today’s Internet environment. Only if designers/developers are consciously aware of these old computers, they can create a pleasant interface for these users to access information effectively.