Web Accessibility

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 "PAS 78: Guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites" 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 Black Widow'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 to 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.

What is PAS 78?

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.

This equates to 147% of the national average.
Source

Over 50s buy 80% of all top of the range cars, 50% of skincare products and 80% of leisure cruises.
Source

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:

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.

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Black Widow's Web Accessibility Services

We are completely independent and do not sell hardware or managed services - thus ensuring that our clients only get the very best impartial advice.