March 23, 2006

Is Your Web Site Accessible to the Disabled

To those who can see, hear and move perfectly (well sometimes I don't hear what I should and do hear what I shouldn't) going to a web site is something we do with little thought. When there's a sound to hear we hear it, when there's fancy images we see it and etc. However, for millions of people who have disabilities (bad eye sight or blind, deaf, limited movement of their hands, head, etc) viewing web sites is at best a challenge.

If you want to ensure your disabled customers and use your web site and want to obey the law do ensure your web site is "accessible".

ByteStart.co.uk writes (from a British perspective) The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) became effective on the 2nd December 1996. In addition to employment protection provisions, it became unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people differently just because they were disabled. From the 1st October 1999, service providers had to make '?reasonable adjustments' for disabled people, ensuring that extra help was available or changing the way the service was provided.

For those of you who are interested, selecting this link will take you to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)

Did you notice that didn't use "click here" as the hyperlink? Later on I'll describe some of the more common mistakes that you'?ll find on web sites. Ones that you need to ensure you don't copy.

0 comments