User Guide

66 Chapter 5 Writing Code and Web Content
Making Web Sites Accessible to Visually Impaired
Visitors
The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative at http://www.w3.org/WAI/ provides a great
deal of practical information about designing applications and interfaces for the
broadest range of users. Macromedia supports user accessibility in its product
interfaces and is striving to fully implement the WAI recommendations.
Simple steps, such as providing a text alternative for images, graphics, and
animations, and using clear descriptive text for page elements and navigation, can
make a world of difference to a visually impaired user’s experience of your site.
Validation tools are available on the site to check compliance with established
standards.
Standards may change more quickly than the product, but you can script the Visual
Tools Object Model (VTOM) to extend or manipulate its functionality. For details,
please see “Customizing the Development Environment” on page 169 and “Scripting
the Visual Tools Object Model” on page 195. You can also check HomeSite Help site
for free downloads that extend the accessibility capabilities of ColdFusion Studio.