mattur - 8:03 pm on Sep 2, 2007 (gmt 0)

Hi cmarshall,

I wouldn't try to do anything special - just normal, unobtrusive accessible design. Giving out instructions like "screen readers should use..." just confuses people, and you cannot rely on the title attribute being read by screen reader users anyway (see Title attribute - what is it good for? [sf.id.au]).

If it's an image map then make it accessible with alt text as normal. Even if it's Flash, it can still be made accessible. Rather than "advanced search" I would use a browse link if possible, eg:

"Click the map below to find foo or <a href="foo-browse">browse by region</a>"

It's not just screen reader users who may prefer an alternative search/browse method, so any alternatives should be presented as "normal" content.

IMHO the best solution is to keep it simple: make the landing page accessible then you don't have to worry about arcane meta or link tags, technology-specific instructions or auto redirects.

HTH.