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 1995 (DDA) in 2004, caused a particular stir amongst a significant number of smaller businesses, meaning that they 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 Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found that over 80% of websites failed some of the basic accessibility tests.

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SiteMorse Technologies Limited, at that time, a leading provider of automated testing and monitoring solutions produced league tables that showed 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 Morrisons reached the top spot for website accessibility in the January 2005 league table.

“A company may score 100% 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 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 www.w3.org/TR but we have listed ten 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 use italics sparingly.
4. Ensure navigation is logical and simple and provide a site index or map in case they get lost. Try navigating round your site without a mouse to test this.
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, you should put a warning for readers with photosensitive 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 text-based views.

Steve Green, Director at Test Partners Limited gave his view on website accessibility situations.

“When the Disability Discrimination Act first came into play ten 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.”

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(s). 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 into contact with a wide variety of disabled people, but when they find a website that works well for them, they make 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 estimates that 1.2 million pupils have special educational needs. At the same time, the ONS has 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 Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), there are already 8.5 million adults in the UK who have some form of disability, which means approximately 14% of the UK population, and which accounts for billions of pounds of revenue.

One last thing to consider is, how many websites have you visited 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 ERCA guidelines and making your website more accessible will not only protect you from potential prosecution, but will also have a positive impact on all users.

Incognate can help you develop a website which fits in with these guidelines. Contact us now.