Ephox Simplifies Web Content Accessibility and Authoring

By Geoff Spick | Published Apr 29, 2009

Ephox Simplifies Web Content Accessibility and Authoring The hardest part of writing web content is making it standards compliant to allow all visitors to use your site and for those with mobile devices to view it properly. The latest version of Ephox's (news, site) EditLive! allows even non-technical users to create standards-compliant content, accessible to all.

Make Sites Visible To All

An often over-looked area of web design is ensuring that the content is standards compliant and offers accessibility to all users. Ephox has been helping to fight this battle for a decade now, and new features in the latest version of the Java-based EditLive! make creating standards-compliant content less taxing for any level of user.

Long a part of major Content Management Systems such as EMC Documentum, CrownPeak, IBM, Oracle, Percussion, RedDot and Vignette, EditLive! is also available as a standalone package in both Enterprise and Professional versions.

New features for the latest version, EditLive 6.7, include:

Table checking: Tables are one of the worst parts of a site to create and check for compatibility. EditLive! now does this for you to guarantee tables that can be opened in any standards-compliant browser.
Word document access: In previous versions users had to cut and paste from Microsoft Word. Now, you can open Word files directly into EditLive! Note, this feature is for Windows users only.
Broken link finder: There is nothing worse for a visitor than to find a site riddled with broken links and, most likely, they will not come back. EditLive! helps nail the problem before a word is published.
Improved XHTML standards compliance: This includes clearer distinction between semantic markup and formatting, makes use of CSS properties instead of deprecated HTML attributes and all markup created within EditLive! will comply with the XHTML 1.0 Strict and XHTML 1.1 standards.

In use, the EditLive! editor highlights any incompatibilities with a red icon. Clicking on the icon explains the problem and the user can fix it to make the icon go away. In an example using tables, any cell or column that lacks compatibility information is highlighted, so you know exactly where to look for a problem.

Letters of the law

With legal requirements in most countries mandating that websites are standards compliant and with the potential benefits of a greater audience, higher placings on search engines and improved productivity, is accessibility high on your agenda?

EditLive! Professional is available for US$ 3,960 while the Enterprise edition is available for US$ 7,960. Upgrades and other terms are available depending on your installations and needs.