1. Maintain simple, consistent page navigation throughout your site.

2. Produce legible sites - Keep backgrounds simple with enough contrast to read the content, break up large blocks of text into readable amounts, and use san-serif fonts; they are more readable than serif or fancy fonts on most monitors.

3. Separate the content from the presentation, use standard HTML for device independence, and CSS for adding style (e.g. fonts, colors, spacing)

4. Keep file sizes as small as possible if your target audience includes those with thin bandwidth (slow connections).

5. Caption video and transcribe other audio for the hearing impaired folks.

6. Make links descriptive so that they are understood out of context. ('Click here' is a no-no because it is meaningless)

7. Include descriptive captions or other options to make graphical features accessible ALT/LONGDESC attributes. Use NULL (alt="") for unimportant graphics. This is Important for the many people with visual impairments using screen readers.

8. If possible provide alternatives and contact information in addition to forms and databases. Not everyone on the Web understands or can use these data collection methods.

9. Provide alternatives for content in applets and plug-ins, if you Flash an entire site you may want to consider the option of a simple companion HTML site.

10. Perform Usability and Accessibility Tests. Testing with just 3 people is better than no testing at all, and you are likely to catch the big issues.

Photos by: Linda Lane www.wonderlane.com