Website Accessibility
According to a recently published report by the U.K. Cabinet Office ("eAccessibility of public sector services in the European Union" [external link], 24/11/2005) only 3% of public sector websites scored a WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) Single-A standard rating. This poor score is typical of other similar studies into website accessibility.
So why should you care? Well, there are at least two good reasons for putting accessibility at the forefront of your website, instead of as an afterthought:
(1) Over 300,000 people were registered as blind or visually impaired in England alone (Department of Health Statistics [external link], March 2003). An inaccessible website could alienate these people - turning away people who are your potential site visitors and customers.
(2) Disability discrimination is law in many countries (in the U.K. this is the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 [external link]). If the information and services on your website are difficult or impossible for a disabled person to access, you may have a claim made against you. If the claim were successful, you might have to pay compensation and have to correct your website.
In June 1999 a case was brought against the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) for having a website which was inaccessible to the blind (Maguire vs. SOCOG, read more about the case [external link]). $20,000 Aus. dollar were paid in damages as a result.
PSLWeb believe it prudent therefore to get accessibility built into your site from the start. We always aim to achieve a WAI Double-AA standard rating for our clients' websites.
