Accessible Web Design
Your website is a user interface by which your customers can gain access to your services. This means that clarity of design and structure, simplicity of use and intuitive interfaces are fundamental factors in the performance of your website.
Accessible Web Design is the process by which your web site is developed to be inclusive to all users of your website, regardless of their software or physical / mental abilities.
Designing your website to be accessible is desirable for both economic reasons and legal reasons. A recent Disability Rights Commission study found that:
"If we look at the high accessibility websites, it took an average of 36 seconds for non-disabled people to do a representative typical task on those sites. For the low accessibility sites it took an average of 52 seconds. That means that on a site which was designed to be accessible for disabled people, non-disabled people were 35 per cent faster. So that I call the usability bonus, because it suggests that if you design sites to be accessible for disabled users, you will actually automatically create a site that is usable for everybody."
-Professor Helen Petrie, City University, Centre for Human Computer Interaction Design
During DRC Formal Investigation Press Briefing
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA)
The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 (DDA) states that it is unlawful for "a provider of services" to discriminate against a disabled person in failing to comply with its provisions. This legislation applies to online services as well as physical documentation and building access.
This means that operators and developers of websites need to be aware of the needs of their visually impaired and motor impaired users, and must also give consideration to users with learning difficulties.
After a recent study, the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) warned that "swathes of businesses may not be complying with existing equal access laws" and that it is "only a matter of time" before they face legal action from disabled consumers.
The DRC published a code of practice in 2002 which clarified the obligations of businesses. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) have also been instrumental with their Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and the guidelines which accompany it.
How Equaliser Internet Can Help
Equaliser Internet have experience of accesible web site design, and always design with web accessibility in mind. We have produced AAA Accessible websites for some clients, and will help to guide you through the process of ensuring that your website is equally accessible to all. We use recommended techniques such as properly structured and validated HTML markup, CSS, properly summaried graphical elements and scalable fonts to ensure the highest level of compliance possible.
We have also performed accessibility audits for other clients. If you think your site may be failing to comply with the law, or if you wish to make sure your next website is DDA compliant, contact us on: accessibledesign@equaliser.net