9 February 2007

Inexperienced web designers could be harming site accessibility by misuse of JavaScript, one expert has warned.

Kevin Yank, a leading technical author, states on SitePoint that a number of obstacles are presented when "beginners" use the code.

Users who do not have JavaScript-enabled browsers or those who navigate without using a mouse could all find sites with poorly-employed JavaScript inaccessible, states the author.

However, it is screen reader software which presents the largest challenge to JavaScript writers, he claims.

"Unfortunately, there are no accepted standards for how this software interprets the content of the page and consequently compatibility with younger web technologies like CSS [cascading style sheets] and JavaScript varies greatly from vendor to vendor," he explains.

Kevin Yank is one of the industry analysts set to speak at the forthcoming Dx3: Design, Develop, Deploy event taking place in Boston this May, where themes such as accessibility and open standards will be discussed.

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