Automatic music and sound creates accessibility barriers

[mandy]

Something to keep in mind is that while you might find a catchy tune or nifty Flash animation appealing on your home page, you may be putting up impenetrable barriers to people with disabilities.

Let's say you sell music. Having a snippet of a popular song play when a visitor arrives would seem to be a natural sales aid. But do you offer an option to turn the music off? Is there a SKIP INTRO button? Do you allow for a few seconds between the time your page loads and the start of your music or video clip? If not, you should. The visitor using assistive technology may not be able to hear his/her screen reader if there is, simultaneously, music or video content playing. If that user cannot hear the contents of the page — product information, pricing, quantity in basket — he/she isn't likely to stick around, no matter how appealing the tune. The best way to deal with this is to insert at least five seconds of silence after your home page loads, and place the SKIP INTRO or TURN OFF SOUND button somewhere prominent...

full article: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articl...top-Signs/