Statistics vary but it is thought that up to 20% of the UK population is disabled in one way or another, so consider if half of these people "surf the net", there are potentially 1 in 10 customers that you could be excluding from your market by not having an accessible website.
Now I hear you say, this is not a lot but when you consider that they are, again potentially, giving their business to your competitors that could impact your business...
In the UK the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 or DDA as it is called for short, requires that "reasonable effort" should be made to ensure that all services are accessible to disabled people. Part 3 of this act came into full effect in 2004 and specifically included web sites as services.
Now here are some considerations:
- Blind people can surf the net using text-to-speech or Braille browsers - this means that if your website is not "code-friendly", these assistive technologies will not be able to "read" your website - so your potential customer will go elsewhere,
- Partially sighted people and people with colour-blindness may need to use larger font sizes or change the colour of the text and/or the screen to read the web site - this also means that if your website does not allow this to happen, your potential customer will go elsewhere,
- Physically disabled people may not be able to use a mouse, keyboard and would possibly use another device to navigate round a web page. You and"or your web designer will need to ensure this is also possible, or dare I say it again you customer may go elsewhere!
- Epilepsy also needs to be considered. An epileptic person could be more sensitive to pages that automatically refresh or that flash, especially those that flash quickly. More detailed information regarding this subject can be found on the Epilepsy Action website, here is the link - http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/photo_web.html
In summary, having an accessible website will mean:
- You have valid code; the code used to generate your page has been written and checked in accordance with W3C Guidelines; it ensures that you comply with current legislation; that your web site is accessible to people using assistive technologies where possible and that your website is more attractive to search engines,
- You have a logical layout; this will mean that users can find things clearly and easily on your web site, they will not have to hunt for information neither will the search engines.
- You have readable content; your content will have been organised in a clear and readable manner. Headings, paragraphs, columns and the like have been used in a manner that is appealing and effective to the naked eye. Fonts will have been considered, as well as colour and colour contrast.
This is but a simple start, and is why we exist to help you. Love Web Design do not charge the earth for this service. We provide high quality Accessibility Services that everyone can afford.
Love Web Design can provide an audit of your existing web sites with recommendations on the way forward. We can undertake the work in a timely fashion without taking your web site offline or impacting your business.
We provide a full documentation pack with all work we undertake in Plain English that will outline in full the level of compliance reached.
Love Web Design is passionate about Accessibility and Usability and to this end, all of our solutions are completely compliant to the highest levels possible.
Contact us now to discuss your requirements and obtain a FREE QUOTE, alternatively, if there is anything on this page that you do not understand and would like clarified please do contact us.
The links below will navigate you away from our website, you will need to use your browsers BACK button to return. Please Note: The Disability Rights Commission Report is a download Link and will prompt you to either open or save the document in order for you to read it.
| RNIB - See It Right Guides. Information about all kinds of visual impairments. |
| Epilepsy Action - www.epilepsy.org.uk - Information regarding Photosensitive Epilepsy. |
| Accessibility Guidelines - Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. |
| Disability Rights Commission Report - The Web - Access & Inclusion for Disabled People. |