KatyWeb

Web Site Accessibility: It's The Law

Web accessibility is all about making websites equally available and functional to any visitor. This applies most perhaps to those visitors with disabilities, but can logically be extended to mean any visitor, whatever the technology used to access a website.

In the UK, Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 requires all websites to be accessible. This legal requirement has been in force since 1st October 1999.

However, many website owners are unaware of their legal responsibilities. This could have serious consequences if a complaint about a website is made to the Disability Rights Commission. For example, if a complaint is upheld, it could lead to fines, costs of redesign and bad publicity. Extra care is required in certain sectors, for example, education and service provision, as additional obligations may apply.

Web Accessibility: The Business Case

Accessibility is not an inconvenience but good business sense. The Institute of Employment Studies estimate that there are some 10 million disabled persons in the UK with a cumulative disposable income worth billions of pounds. Why would any business want it's website to exclude that potential market?

Making your website accessible will also mean it is normally more useable for everyone, including able bodied visitors using conventional devices and technology. Plus, a clean, well-designed, standards-compliant and accessible site will be much easier for a search engine to crawl.

Contact KatyWeb now for a no-obligation consultation about the accessibility of your website.