Benefits and Challenges of Accessible Web Design
Accessible Web sites have many advantages and also present challenges to organisations: particularly those concerned with social inclusion, digital inclusion and life long learning.
Accessible Web sites reach a wider audience
The issues of accessibility and usability are closely linked. Accessible sites are more usable and successfully encourage customer loyalty and have the capacity to reach a much wider audience.
They can run on multiple devices including Web TV and Palm Pilots - they can be used on multiple operating systems e.g. Windows, Mac and Linux. They can be accessed through different browsers e.g. Netscape and Explorer, working on old as well as new browsers. This also results in considerably extending access and reducing barriers to disabled Internet users who will be accessing the World Wide Web through a range of special devices such as speech synthesisers and braille readers.
Economic advantages
Accessible Web sites have economic advantages. A larger audience means an increased market and greater commercial opportunities. For example: disabled people, who are more likely than most people to wish to access services online, have a large disposable income:
8% of the population in USA have impairments which affect their ability to access the web. The figure in Europe is 11% and is expected to reach 18% by 2020. "These people control $175 billion in discretionary income". From an article by Anthony Quinn published by Frontend.com http://infocentre.frontend.com/servlet/Infocentre?access=no&page=article&rows=5&id=163
Bert Massie , Chair of the Disability Rights Commission also highlights the spending power of disabled people on the Disability Rights Commission Web site:
"Disabled people have around £40 billion to spend - a fact that businesses and service providers need to bear in mind". http://www.drc-gb.org/
The economic advantages of accessible Web site design are also highlighted by Scottish Enterprise:
They point out that the site maintenance costs of accessible Web sites are lower and also the benefits of good PR are greater and there is less chance of negative publicity. They also emphasize the advantages of "letting many more users who want to access your information, goods or services do so". This leads to more sales, more opportunity to sell advertising, and costs cut on public enquiries and overheads.
(Scottish Enterprise Network - e-business SMART Guide 21 - Web Accessibility) (This can be downloaded from http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/ebusiness)
Accessible Web sites and Compliance with Legislation
The potential risk of legal action is a further driving force towards ensuring that your Web site is accessible. Recent legislation and the development of good practice standards could leave organisations open to legal action. Whilst there have been no legal cases relating to accessibiity in the UK, as yet, legal action has been taken in both Australia and USA.
In the UK the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 places a responsibility on both private and public sector organisations to make their information services as accessible as is reasonably possible.
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Rights Act, May, 2001, requires all academic institutions and local authorities to ensure that services are accessible to disabled students. This extends to informal training including lifelong learning initiatives and will also have implications for on line training programmes.
Information on this topic can be found in an article by Martin Sloan, Department of Law, University of Glasgow, who has carried out research into the Law and Web Accessibility http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/01-2/sloan.html#fn21
Codes of Practice and information on legislation can be found on The Disability Rights Commission Web site http://www.drc-gb.org/
Standards and Web Accessibiity Guidelines
The Web Accessibility Initiative has developed guidelines for developing accessible Web sites all sites developed by ScotConnect and The Making Connections Unit conform with the World Wide Web Consortium's Accessibility Guidelines. These guidelines also provide the basis for Web site Accessibility and Usability Audits. Problems are identified and recommendations provided within a written report will relate to the WWW.w3c guidelines. (http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/)
ScotConnect recommend that, in order to promote accessibility, Web sites should comply with Level 2 /Level 3 of the World Wide Web Consortium's Accessibility Guidelines:
Each checkpoint has a priority level assigned by the WAI Working Group based on the checkpoint's impact on accessibility.
[Priority 1] A Web content developer must satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it impossible to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint is a basic requirement for some groups to be able to use Web documents. [Priority 2] A Web content developer should satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will remove significant barriers to accessing Web documents. [Priority 3] A Web content developer may address this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it somewhat difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will improve access to Web documents. http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/#Introduction
ScotConnect carrying out access audits to Level 3 and recommend that organisations should aim to have Web sites satisfying at least Priority 2 or the WAI Guidelines - significantly extending accessibiity.
Web Accessibility - Awareness and Skills Gap
There is growing awareness of the issues relating to Web Accessibility - to some extent due to extensive press coverage of the Sydney Olympic Organising Committee Court Case in 2000. Until recently there has been less concern expressed in relation to the skills gap in accessible Web site design.
Recently there has been evidence of some panic in the USA with regard to this and Web Accessibility Training Programmes have been 'standing room only'.
On June 25th 2001 Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments, 1998 became law in the USA. The Act’s goal is to ensure that federal employees and members of the public, who are disabled have the same access to information technology as those who are not disabled.. At stake is the $40 billion annual federal IT market.
John Williams in BusinessWeek Online - Making Uncle Sam Accessible and Accountable. Williams points out that:
"You can bet disabled Web users will be testing the federal agencies’ Web sites for accessibility. In fact, there is outright fear within many agencies that they won’t be ready to meet the avalanche of Web Inquiries from people with disabilities." (http://www.section508.gov/classes.html)
ScotConnect and Making Connections are working together to provide a range of services including:
- Awareness Raising Seminars on Web Accessibility aimed at policy makers and managers
- Access and usability audits
- Practical skills training for Web designers in Accessible Web site design
- Training in Web site Management
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