Are they logging on, or are you losing out?

Figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have established that over 12.5 million people, more than 61% of the population, now have access to the internet.* You may already recognise the importance of having a web presence, and will probably spend much time, effort and money driving people to your website, but what if people can’t access it properly?

The introduction of an amendment to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in 2004, which caused a particular stir amongst a significant number of smaller businesses that now have to provide access for disabled workers. It also raised the issue of website accessibility for disabled people, which, in fact, has been in force since October 1999. A survey carried out by Disability Rights Commission (DRC) found that over 80% of websites failed some of the basic accessibility tests.

SiteMorse Technologies Limited, a leading provider of automated testing and monitoring solutions produce league tables that show the accessibility of FTSE 100 companies, as well as local and central government sites. Although not perfect, many of the major players seem to be taking website accessibility seriously and making an effort to make their websites more accessible. The rising star of food retailers Morrsions have reached the top spot for website accessibility in the January 2005 league table. “A company may score100% on the SiteMorse test but it doesn’t mean the website is completely accessible as it is important that manual testing is carried out as well,” explains Graham Jarvis.

So, what do you need to consider when designing or redesigning your website? There are four key areas of disability that you need to bear in mind; people who are blind or partially sighted the deaf or hard of hearing, people with co-ordination or dexterity problems, such as arthritis or RSI and finally people with learning difficulties.

Yet, how do you make your website accessible? The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has a set of guidelines that have become standard, and can be downloaded at http://www.w3.org/TR but we have listed 10 key points to consider when reviewing your site for accessibility issues:

1. Make sure you use plain English, avoid slang, technical language and jargon

2. Use meaningful headings, break text up into smaller paragraphs and use correct punctuation

3. Try not to use small fonts, but also allow users to change the font size, Avoid capitalisation, underlining words (unless they are links) and don’t use italics

4. Ensure navigation is logical and simple and provide an site index or map in case they get lost – Try navigating round your site without a mouse

5. If your site has any audio context you need to provide an alternative text based overview

6. Always label images with a good description, but don’t avoid graphics altogether as these may be useful to people with cognitive issues, dyslexia or those with English as their second language

7. If you have flash or images that flicker this could cause a seizure for individuals with epilepsy

8. Always provide good clear and concise descriptions for links and don’t just put the usual ‘Click Here’ for more…

9. Be careful with colour as people will sometimes be viewing on a black and white screen

10. If you do use forms or tables make sure they read row by row for those using

Steve Green, Director at Test Partners Limited gave me his view on the website accessibility situations. “When the Disability Discrimination Act first came into play 10 years ago we knew that it would take some time for organisations to make changes. Although there are guidelines nobody is enforcing them and at the end of the day it all depends on what the DDA considers reasonable.

Companies have been named and shamed and others have settled issues out of court but until there is a test case, which could take years, the situation is not likely to change drastically says Green. He believes there are three things companies should consider when looking at website accessibility:

1. Take advice on the accessibility of your website from somebody who is impartial; as some companies I have spoken to have been quoted ridiculous amounts of money to make their website accessible

2. Test the site for current accessibility, using a testing company or other tools and document all your considerations and costs of making the change. If you have your site tested properly you may be pleasantly surprised

3. Think about the market potential you may be missing. Our work brings us in to contact with a wide variety of disabled people, but when they find a website that works well for them, they are very loyal customers.”

Companies not taking website accessibility seriously may be in for a wake up call in the future as the Department of Skills and Education estimate that 1.2 million pupils have special educational needs. At the same time, the ONS have identified that 83% of people aged 16 – 24 years old, access the internet on a regular basis. Is there existing business that you may be missing? According to the Disability Rights Commission there are already 8.5 million adults in the UK who have some disability, which means approximately 14 % of the UK population and which accounts for billions of pounds of revenue.

One last thing to consider, how many websites have you logged on to recently, but have logged off quickly because you couldn’t find the information you wanted, there was too much text or it was too small, maybe there was excessive use of pictures or flash animation and you never even got to see the site properly?

Complying with the DDA guidelines and making your web site more accessible will not only protect you from potential prosecution, but will also have a positive impact on all users.

You can find more information at Disability Rights Commission website