Brief description of Web Accessibility

What exactly is Web Accessibility ?

Simply put, web accessibility is about making a site accessible to the largest range of people possible. For the majority of website owners, this is simply good business sense. After all, the more people you have using your site the better.

Making a website accessible involves removing potential barriers to access and one of the best ways of doing this is to build sites to 'web standards'.

Who does this affect ?

People often think that web accessibility relates only to people with physical disabilities. Although they are often most affected by poorly designed sites, accessibility is a much wider issue and at a fundamental level, affects us all.

* Blind, visually impaired and colour blind people are probably the most obvious
group of individuals affected by accessibility issues. This group also makes up
a very large percentage of web surfers
* People with physical disabilities, such as those with impaired mobility
* People surfing the web using mobile phones and PDA's. These people are possibly
the most affluent and technically advanced group of people suffering from web accessibility issues.
* People using old browsers or old computers. Many companies and organizations
have standardized on older browser versions and don't use the latest computer
equipment.
* People using slow internet connections.
* The 'Silver Surfer' is one of the largest growing markets on the web. This
sector has accessibility issues such as reduced mobility, reduced hand-eye
co-ordination and poor vision.
* Young Internet users can also have poor hand-eye co-ordination, coupled with a
low reading age.
* People who don't speak or understand English fluently.

The positive aspects of having an accessible website are:

* Ability to tap into affluent niche markets like the 'Silver Surfer' or people using PDA's and phones.
* The positive PR that comes from adopting a socially responsible attitude and complying with web best practices.
* Accessible websites are inherently more search engine friendly. After all, Google is the largest "blind user" on the web.
* Increased turnover from more people using your site.

The negative aspects of an inaccessible website are:

* You could be turning away large numbers of potential customers each day without even knowing it.
* When people have a positive experience of a website they generally don't tell people. But if they have a negative experience they are likely to tell everybody!
* Excluding people from your website can generate very negative PR.
* Your website might even find itself open to litigation.

Web accessibility is a broad issue and one that affects both web users and website owners.

Source / Read more about Web accessibility & its effects at

The Business Case for Web Accessibility