Accessibility is not just about catering for "the disabled" - its about making websites more accessible and user friendly for the whole population.
Have you ever tried to find contact details on a website and given up? Or was the text too small or difficult to read? If this happens to one of your potential customers then they might decide to use the services of your competitor instead.
There are lots of useful accessibility features which can make websites easier to use:
- Text size - allowing users to change the text size via their browser
- Images - always providing a text description alongside
- Contrast - making sure that text stands out from the background
- Navigation - providing a way for users to navigate without a mouse
There are over 10 million disabled people in the UK, with disabled adults spending an estimated £80 billion each year (source: DWP Family Resources Survey 2006).
Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) came into force on October 1st 2004 and the Code of Practice produced by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) specifically mentions "accessible websites" (see sections 5.23 and 5.26). This means that accessibility is not just an option, its a legal requirement.
Our website includes a number of accessibility features.