deGRADE

Graphics Remover and Accessible Design Evaluator

Does your page make deGRADE?

Version 0.5aware, 18 June 1999
By Kynn Bartlett, Director, HTML Writers Guild AWARE Center

What is it?

This is a web-based script for evaluating your web site's accessibility. This is still under construction and specific behavior may be subject to change at any time, although the AWARE Center staff is not presently working on developing this software at this time.

What does it do?

When designing web pages, it's important to make sure that the pages will "degrade gracefully". This means that the pages must remain usable and useful when viewed on browsers that can't handle the latest in HTML and web design -- even if they don't look as pretty.

This web page will let you test out your page with a variety of different "degrading levels", ranging from a string of pure text to the latest HTML 4.0 tags.

How do I use it?

To use this free service, just enter your URL in the text box, and select the level you wish to view your page at. This page is most effective if you are on a relatively recent web browser -- such as the 4.0/3.6 or later versions of Netscape, Internet Explorer, or Opera.

I recommend testing your page at every level; this will give you a feel for how your design holds up across the wide spectrum of possible browsers. Note that I don't guarantee that your page will look like any given level on any particular browser; this is meant to illustrate what could happen to your web page under less than optimal conditions. A smart web designer never designs for specific browsers, but rather in accordance with principles of universal accessibility.

Are there other cool toys like this?

Yep, everything from validators to accessibility checkers. I maintain a short list of other evaluators which you might be interested in.