The advent of cutting-edge web features has benefited many but those same features will often prevent functionality by users with special needs. With some simple adjustments Web 2.0 features can be made accessible to all users regardless of ability.

First will be an overview of the basic accessibility adherence guidelines, the benefits of implementing web accessibility, the common hurdles, and the ways to make implementation easier using open source solutions.

Next, we will provide real-world explanations of how different disabilities can affect web usage in ways not normally perceived by unrestricted users and how the common solutions aim to ease access. Details of the different accessibility implementations will be explained including Section 508 and W3C WAI levels A, AA, and AAA compliance, along with W3C’s upcoming release of WCAG 2.0.

We will end discussing improving the accessibility of Ajax, DHTML, and Flash as well as blogs, tag clouds, and other common Web 2.0 trends and how to ensure their universal usability.