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Although it is not possible to "have a go" at having an impairment, there are some simulations which allow you to experience your web site through alternative technologies or methods of access. We have included some simulations here so that you can experience your web site from a different perspective.

Blind users

Blind users may use software which translates text into speech; they therefore hear rather than see web pages. This group is often (incorrectly) thought to be the main category of users where accessibility is an issue.

A popular screen-reading software program is JAWS. The vendors (Freedom Scientific) provide a free JAWS demo that you can install on your PC. This will work for 40mins at a time, then it ceases to work until you reboot your PC.

As an alternative you could try the screen-reader simulation exercise produced by the WebAim organisation. You will need speakers or headphones to listen as a web page is read out. Your task is to answer some questions about the (fictional) organisation represented.

Key issues for blind users would include:

• Having access to meaningful text descriptions of images and the full text of image-text (i.e. text in the form of an image).
• Having access to text descriptions of any elements or scripts which would not be available to blind users (e.g. 3D animations).
• Using full punctuation (e.g. a full stop at the end of sentences) within bullet-list text enables text-to-speech software to interpret text as intended.

You can check whether your alternative text makes sense, and whether your complex layout transfers to a linear flow, by using Delorie.com's Lynx view, a tool that shows how your page would appear in the Lynx text-only browser. The issues are similar to those encountered by screen-reader software. Try it here:

Partially sighted users:

Partially sighted users may use screen magnifying software or they may need to enlarge the size of text on screen. This is a large category of users which spans from people with low vision to those who are more comfortable with being able to alter text size (for example, the short-sighted).

The Web Aim organisation has produced a low vision simulation that you can try to experience some of the problems encountered with having an enlarged, but partial view of a web page. Read the instructions, then try to answer questions about the site from using the simulator.

Key issues for partially-sighted users would include:

• Having text rather than images for navigation tools (avoid buttons that are images).
• Being able to alter the text size from the browser's View menu.

Colour blind / colour deficient users:

There are many conditions in this category.

Try the Vischeck simulator to explore the effects of a few colour deficiencies on the experience of viewing one of your web pages.

Key concerns include:

• Colour being used as the sole method for denoting meaning - for example to indicate which section of the site you are in, or to show that certain information belongs to a category.
• Choice of colours that gives a low contrast between text and background colour.

These key issues are addressed in the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

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Original pages: April 2001 by John Walsh
last updated: 01 January 1970 by Rachel Scudamore