The BBC article below reveals that in 2004, more than 80 percent of website were unusable by disabled people. Using the information and checklist below, how effective is your website in complying with The 1995 Disability Discrimination Act and allowing those with a sight or hearing disability to enjoy all that your website has to offer?
BBC News Online disability affairs reporter
An investigation by the Disability Rights Commission shows 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.
Bert Massie, DRC Chairman described the situation as "unacceptable", and said the organisation was determined not to allow disabled people to be left behind by technology.
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.
Bert Massie, DRC Chairman described the situation as "unacceptable", and said the organisation was determined not to allow disabled people to be left behind by technology.
GOOD WEBSITE DESIGN CHECKLIST
Provide text equivalents for non-text elements
Ensure good colour contrast between foreground and background
Pages must be usable when scripts and applets are turned off or not supported
Avoid movement in pages
Avoid pop-ups and don't change window without telling the user
Divide large blocks of information into manageable chunks
Clearly identify the target of each link
Use the clearest and simplest language possible
A thousand websites were tested for the survey using automated software, and detailed user testing was carried out on 100 sites, including government, business, e-commerce, leisure and web services such as search engines.The results showed that the worst affected group were those with visual impairments.
Blind people involved in testing websites were unable to perform nearly all of the tasks required of them despite using devices such as screen readers.
"The web has been around for 10 years, yet within this short space of time it has managed to throw up the same hurdles to access and participation by disabled people as the physical world," said Mr Massie.
"It is an environment that could be made more accommodating to disabled people at a relatively modest expense."
Mr Massie warned website owners to improve accessibility or be prepared to face legal action.
The 1995 Disability Discrimination Act requires information providers to make their services accessible.
Blind people involved in testing websites were unable to perform nearly all of the tasks required of them despite using devices such as screen readers.
"The web has been around for 10 years, yet within this short space of time it has managed to throw up the same hurdles to access and participation by disabled people as the physical world," said Mr Massie.
"It is an environment that could be made more accommodating to disabled people at a relatively modest expense."
Mr Massie warned website owners to improve accessibility or be prepared to face legal action.
The 1995 Disability Discrimination Act requires information providers to make their services accessible.
“ Businesses have a social responsibility as well as a legal duty ”
Julie Howell, RNIB
Julie Howell, RNIB
The problems most commonly encountered by the disabled website testers were cluttered pages, confusing navigation, failure to describe images and poor colour contrast between background and text.
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