Accessibility
Accessible website design
A website is accessible if it is reasonably possible for anyone to access the content. As the level of accessibility increases, the differences in ease of access decrease.
In the media
In April 2004 an investigation by the Disability Rights Commission showed that more than 80 percent of websites are unusable by disabled people.
This means that many everyday activities carried out on the internet - booking a holiday, managing a bank account, buying theatre tickets or finding a cheaper credit card - are difficult or impossible for many disabled people.
In the same month, the BBC gave extensive coverage to this investigation which was also widely reported in most national newspapers.
Increasing attention is being given to accessibility issues and it is reported that some major organisations may be encouraged to improve the accessibility of their web sites under the threat of legal action.
Who does this affect?
When talking about accessibility most people think of people with physical disabilities. However there are other groups of people who have problems accessing web content.
- People surfing the web using mobile phones, PDAs and WebTV
- People using older computers and browsers
- People with slow internet connections
- The “Silver Surfer” with issues such as reduced mobility, vision and hand-eye coordination
- People who don’t understand English
- Blind, partially sighted and colour blind
- People with physical disabilities
Facts, figures and statistics.
The following UK facts and figures assist in understanding the significance of accessibility issues and speak for themselves. Web sites are accessible to an even wider audience worldwide; we leave the reader to consider the extrapolated implications.
- We are assuming a UK population of approximately 60 million
- There are 1.6 million registered blind users as well as a further 3.4 million with disabilities preventing them from using the standard keyboard, screen and mouse set-up with ease.
- There are 8.6 million registered disabled people in the UK , totalling 14% of the population (Source Disabled Rights Commission)
- One in 12 men, and one in 200 women, has some form of colour blindness, totaling 9% of the UK population (Source IEE )
- Two million UK residents have a sight problem -- that’s 4% of the population (Source RNIB)
- There are 12 million people aged 60 or over -- some 21% of the UK population (Source UK Government statistics)
- 8 million people suffer from some form of hearing loss, 1 million people have a form of learning difficulty and over 7 million people have literacy problems (Source Office of the e-Envoy)
If you are concerned about the accessibility of your web site, contact us for a discussion with regard to your concerns and requirements.