Web accessibility

Question

So we should make accessible web sites, providing alt attribute for img elements and all other stuff. But although this effects comparatively lesser number of users, I could not find any information to the issues that effects each and every user.

Let me explain. If we were to simplify matters by saying that web sites should provide the most revelant information in the least amount of time, would I be wrong? Given this axion if I were to

1 - Want to download the offline version of Acrobat Reader X. There is nothing, and I mean nothing on the site http://www.adobe.com/products/reader.html which provides a hint, link or anything to that. I have to use google to find ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/

2 - Again trying to find the offline version of Google Chrome at http://www.google.com/chrome/ . Nothing there that may lead to http://www.google.com/chrome/eula.html?standalone=1

3 - So Internet Explorer has an addon called Web Developer Tool Bar. It is safe to assume I will find it at http://www.ieaddons.com/in/. No such luck. Have to google it again and find it at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=95e06cbe-4940-4218-b75d-b8856fced535

4 - Trying to get the the Firebug addon from https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/extensions/web-development/. Successfully navigated to web development. You can use "view all recetally added" or "view all top downloads" or "view all top rated". What if you want to view all for web development. Offcouse you sue the search!

These are just some of the situations. I guess my question would be that are these not accessibility issues?

Answer 1

If the issues you are are describing apply equally to say sighted users as to blind users using a screenreader, then no, they are not considered to be accessibility issues, but are perhaps broader usability issues.

If, for example, the adobe web site had no link at all to the offline version, and all users, sighted or not, had to do extra work to find it, that's a usability issue.

But if the web site had a graphic image that sighted users could see was a link to the download, but users using a screenreader did not get this information (eg. because the graphic had no ALT text, or the image was not operable via keyboard), then it's an accessibility issue.

There's certainly overlap between these; and it's often the case that usability issues are harder for disabled users to work around; but generally accessibility refers to cases where the design of a site confronts a user with a disability with additional barriers or challenges beyond those that users without a disability have to deal with.