Everyone has a way of doing things, but not everyone does things the same way. Empathy is at the core of good accessiblity practice. One way to develop empathy is to think beyond yourself and your experiences. Before designing for a new feature, have you ever asked yourself the question, "How would someone that doesn't use a computer the way I do use this feature?" Here's another question. "If someone couldn't use a mouse would they be able to use this feature the way I've designed it?"
A key principle of web accessiblity is operability. Not everyone can use a mouse or click on small links or elements, so accessiblity best practice ensures a mouse or other pointing device is not the only way to navigate a site or app. iSoftStone's fourth installment of our Do's and Don'ts for Accessibility provides easy-to-follow guidance on designing beyond just the use of a mouse. Please take a look at Developing and Designing for Keyboard Controls for some useful tips.
We hope you have found our Do's and Don'ts series helpful. We would love to hear any feedback you might have.
