Website Accessibility

A lot is often made of website accessibility, and with good reason. There are guidelines and laws that all UK based business websites need to adhere to in order to be considered lawfully accessible. However, accessibility is good practice, regardless of the legal issues. Having an accessible site means that anybody that wishes to view it can do so, regardless of their disabilities or preferences. An inaccessible site may alienate against certain groups or demographics within society – a sure fire way to start losing visitors.

UK Accessibility Laws

Technically speaking, your website should meet best practice standards in web design and coding. This means the use of valid HTML, CSS, and other languages. While all professional designers and developers should be aware of this and develop sites accordingly, it may pay you to check before work commences. While it is unlikely that you will be prosecuted under current UK law, the possibility remains and it is you or your organisation that will be held responsible and not the company that developed your site. If you have an agreement in place that includes the development of an accessible site then you at least have some form of comeback.

DDA

Websites are governed under the Disabilities Discrimination Act 1995, commonly known as the DDA. The DDA states that service providers and employers should make reasonable efforts to ensure that disabled people are not discriminated against, or treated unfairly, as a result of their disability. It is widely accepted that this means a website needs to meet W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) WAI (Web Access Initiative) to at least priority level 1 and preferably level 2.

W3C WAI Priority Levels

There are 3 levels of W3C WAI priority.

Level 1 - Level 1 is the lowest and ensures that the most basic accessibility barriers are overcome. Failing to meet level 1 priority means that certain groups of people will find a website entirely inaccessible. Websites must meet these standards to be considered accessible, but these standards alone are often considered to be too lenient.

Level 2 - Priority 2 accessibility is the preferred level of accessibility for a service provider's website. Some groups may still find it difficult, although not impossible, to access the information contained on a level 2 compliant website. While UK law is not clearly defined, and many believe that meeting level 1 priority will suffice, it is the safer option to aim for level 2 priority. This will also prevent you form missing out on large segments of the disabled community.

Level 3 - A website that has met priority level 3 accessibility standards then the vast majority of visitors to a website will be able to access all information readily and easily, regardless of disabilities. This is the highest priority level and, certainly for websites that deal with issues relevant to the disabled community, it is the desirable level. There are a lot of guidelines that need to be met, however, if you begin by designing your site with priority 3 in mind, then it is an achievable target.

Accessibility And Your Business

As a service provider or business it is not only a legal requirement to offer an accessible website, it will help when attempting to lure more sales. Accessibility primarily concentrates on providing a website that offers information accessible to everybody, regardless of any disabilities they may have. Meeting W3C WAI priority level 1 is an absolute must, but it is desirable to have priority 2 accessibility. If you offer any kind of service that will appeal specifically to a disabled market then priority 3 should be your target because this ensures that the information on your site is accessible by the majority of people.