Since May 2002, all web sites within the UK should comply
with the Code of Practice issued by the Disability Rights
Commission in relation to the UK Disability Discrimination
Act.
In March 2006, the British Standards Institute (BSI) published
the DRC-sponsored document:
which was designed to to help site owners who wished to develop
accessible sites. PAS 78 is considered to be a 'work in progress'
which could mature into a British Standard.
Many people believe that the best way to ensure that their
site is accessible is to build a text only website or a text-only
version of their graphic site.
Wrong!
It is perfectly possible to build a great looking, graphical,
site that is also accessible. In fact, all of Locus Creation
Ltd's sites are built with accessibility in mind and we think
they also look good.
As experts in this field, we can highlight accessibility
issues within your existing site or assist you in building
a new site. However, our role is not to simply identify the
problems but to help you find practical solutions - both short
and long term - that will allow you to develop a more accessible
and effective web site.
The Business Case
Legislation is far from the only reason why you should consider
reviewing your existing site's accessibility levels or ensuring
that a new site is accessible.
There are currently over 10 million registered disabled
people within the UK, representing an estimated market of
of £80 billion per annum. There are many more people
who suffer from slight impairments, such as failing sight
with age, who also benefit from increased web site accessibility.
For example, potential customers aged between 50 and 64 are
rapidly becoming a key consumer group. By 2008, this group
will have risen to 8.5 million in the UK alone and their annual
disposable income, per capita, will have increased by 8.5%
to £17,872.
Making your site accessible to the millions of people affected
by disabilities can significantly increase your customer base.
Furthermore, recent studies have also shown that accessible
web sites are favoured by people who do not have any special
needs and that accessibility improvements result in an overall
improved user experience and increased customer loyalty.
The Legal
and General web site was re-designed in 2005 in order
to increase its overall accessibility levels. Following the
launch of the new site, the benefits noted were:
A 30% increase in natural search-engine traffic
A significant improvement in Google rankings for all target
keywords
75% reduction in time for pages to load
Cross browser-compatibility increased (not a single complaint
since the redesign)
Site now accessible to mobile devices
Time to manage content reduced from average of five days
to 0.5 days per job
95% increase in visitors getting a life insurance quote
90% increase in Life insurance sales online
Savings of £200K annually on site maintenance
100% return on investment in less than 12 months.
When accessible web design principles are properly applied,
the result is a resource that is easy to use for all - regardless
of what technology, specialist or otherwise, is being used
to access it.
Locus Creations Ltd's Web Accessibility Services
Site design and development in accordance with relevant
accessibility guidelines and specifications
Expert reviews of existing sites
Site usability testing support
Recommendations for increasing your site's overall accessibility
and performance levels.
