John McCain’s website is a challenge. There are some fundamental problems with it.
First off, there is no DOCTYPE. For those not aware, a DOCTYPE is the statement that tells a browser, Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc., what type of code the page is written in and how to present it. It is the first and most fundamental piece of code for a web page. Without it, each type and version of browser will render the code differently. This creates complications for developers and designers down the road. How will they worry about accessibility when they have to retro-fit fixes for presentation in all browser types? The inclusion of a DOCTYPE statement prevents unnecessary problems.
The next obvious thing to me is that there is over 300 lines of javascript in the html code. Pull this out and load it with a script tag. Having the page’s script placed in the code of the page itself is not an encouraging sign as to how accessible the javascript might be. I’ll defer analysis to those with a better handle on accessible scripting.
The sign up form is missing necessary labels. Without those, screen readers have a difficult time knowing what information is supposed to go in which fields.
I shouldn’t be surprised to see some missing alt tags. I’m saddened to see the images that are the most impacting: the dominant image of Senator McCain, for example, or the one at the top of the page that catches your eye right away, are missing alt tags. This is not acceptable eight years after the finalization of WCAG 1.0.
Lastly, Senator McCain’s page is one giant table tag. Tables are for structuring tabular data. They are not an acceptable means of presentation. There is a stylesheet on McCain’s site. There’s no excuse why this page has to be laid out with a table. None. Not ten years after CSS 1.0 came out. From an accessibility standpoint, table-based layout is problematic as it presents a hindrance for the finding of information. It breaks up the normal flow of the page’s content and for someone who can’t see, this is a problem.
I think this site may be the worst I’ve encountered. I eagerly await someone telling me otherwise.
