 Chapter XXV A Framework for Accessible and Usable Web Applications Lourdes Moreno Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain Elena Castro Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain Dolores Cuadra Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain Paloma Martinez Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain Copyright © 2008, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. introduction Internet growth makes use feasible by an increased number of people around the world. For this reason, several approaches must be taken in order to get a universal access for all kinds of users, independent of their capabilities. Nowadays, it is diffcult for disabledd people to use the Web in the same way as non-disabledd people, even though the use of this technology is a right for everybody and more in the public administration scope in which, a lot of services must be available for users and on a correct way. Universal access may be obtained through the integration of usability and accessibility concepts in the software engineering discipline. To get the integration a user central design (UCD) (ISO 13407, 1999) lean on an inclusive design (Newell &Gregor, 2000), has to be required. These de- sign methodologies consist of the possibility that every users, with independence of if they have disabilities or not, participate in all phases of the Web application development. These techniques imply that the accessibility is taken into account from the frst development phases, so that dis- abled people will be able to access to each and