Designing sites in accordance with Web accessibility principles is necessary in order to enable access to all users. If your website is less usable or built incorrectly, you will lose website visitors and may even be breaking the law!

The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 says it’s unlawful to exclude disabled people from the web, while companies have proved that making a website easier for a disabled person to use would improve the take up of products by as much as 300%.

In April 2009, the British Standards Institution will publish the first British Standard on web accessibility, but why is a British Standard necessary? There are in excess 10m disabled people in the UK with an annual spending power estimated to be around £80bn per annum.
Research by the Disability Rights Commission in 2004 found that a great amount of goodwill exists among web designers towards disabled people, yet less than 20% of UK websites actually meet the basic criteria for accessible design.

Implementing the guidelines laid out by the W3C into your website means:

• An increase in the amount of visitors who can use your website.
• Your website will last longer because more devices such as web browsers, mobile phones etc start to comply with the standards.
• Your website should be easier to read by search engines.
• Your website will be viewable on other Internet ready devices.
• Most importantly, if your website adheres to the WAI (website accessibility initiative) you will reach more customers

The WAI have said that “at least 10% of the population in most countries have disabilities” Why should your website not be seen by less capable web users? To make your website as ‘usable’ as possible means that you can maximise your website reach.

Click here to request a FREE evaluation of your website!

If you are unsure or have any concerns, feel free to call us on 0800 611 8108 and we’ll be happy answer any questions you may have.

So what is a web accessibility?

The number of people advocating web accessibility and standards-based design in general is increasing day by day.  “So what is the big fuss and why do I need to implement the web accessibility on my website”, customers may exclaim.

Web accessibility is a general practice of developing websites accessible to people that use a wide range of software & devices and not just standard Web browsers. This is especially important for people with disabilities such as visual impairment. In order to access the Web, some users require special software or devices (e.g. screen readers) in addition to a standard web browser, or a specially designed web browsers. In our opinion, designing for accessibility is also a sub-category of good design for usability and goes beyond just designing for people with physical or cognitive disabilities.

Accessibility is about making your site available to the widest possible audience regardless of what browser or device your visitors use, disability or connection speed they may have. Therefore, developing websites with accessibility in mind can also improve website’s usability . Good design can also deliver easier access for automated software programs that read website content, such as search engines.

One important aspect of accessibility is to let people access content in their preferred way. This can also benefit all users not just those with disabilities: for example, some users may wish to adjust text sizes because they are using a very small display on a mobile phone, or may need to use keystrokes to control their computer because they do not have a mouse or prefer not to use one.

The BIS Team are going to be blogging about Web Accessibility and Usability over the next week or so, we feel it is crucial part if any successful website.

Take a peek at our Free Website Evaluation service that assesses your website for accessibility, usability as well as Search Engine Optimisation. You can check it out here.

Enjoy!!!!

There is definitely a battle taking place online, the “browser wars” have recently seen the entry of Google’s Chrome browser, which has had mixed reviews so far, and now Opera have piped up with their latest browser addition.

Opera have released their 9.6 version which has some really good features.  They promise typed history with Opera link which we think is a great new feature as it allows users to access bookmarks and visited websites from any computer - they’ve even updated their RSS feeds allowing previews before subscribing.

The Opera browser is very popular in the mobile market especially with the users of the classy HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Pro mobile phones.  We will see plenty of crossover onto the desktop but we are confident that they won’t topple the mighty Firefox any time soon, but this Opera version is looking good

Download Opera 9.6

Watch your business grow with a website

First things fist, get started and contact us for a quote

If you want your business to be taken seriously and you want as much exposure as possible, you need a website.  Even if you are a local business you will have more chance to attract customers in your area if you have one because there are more and more people going online now than ever before.

According to recent statistics, over 35.5 million people are online in the United Kingdom - that’s a lot, especially when you consider the entire population of the UK is just 60 million.

Internet usage is growing at a phenomenal rate and people are embracing all aspects of it, from cooking ingredients to planning their journey to personal internet banking.

Don’t fall behind!

Your business needs to be where people are looking and now that people have less time for newspapers and their advertisements, the internet is where people go for their information and if your business is not there then you will be loosing out.

A website would be a fantastic addition to your business - you will be able to provide your customers with much more information about you and your business - and a website doesn’t pack up and leave at 5.30pm either, it carries on promoting your business and earning money for you, 24/7.

It is well worth the investment.