Website accessibility and their respective regulations
Webtrendz provides fully customised website accessibility design and several web accessibility options. We are based in Palmers Green, Enfield, and work with companies throughout the UK and Europe to develop and rebrand websites in order to be compliant with the Government guidelines on website accessibility which came into force on the 1st October 2004. We at Webtrendz go further, we build websites which gain high placements within search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
Webtrendz accessibility services for website are:
- Website accessibility design and content optimisation
- Website accessibility testing
- Provision of various web accessibility options
- Compliance to standards and guidelines including CynthiaSays, Bobby, WCAG 1.0, W3C, Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and Article 508 (US)
- Accessible websites using Content Management Systems
The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995
The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 (DDA) states that all services - including web services and internal IT systems - should be made accessible to members of the public. The W3C, the standards governing body of the World Wide Web, has laid down guidelines to ensure website accessibility for the visually impaired and hard of hearing through the Web Accessibility Initiave (WAI) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) - currently version 1.0.
By discriminating against visually impaired individuals website owners are exposing themselves to possible lawsuits and legal action. Several large website owners have already settled out of court rather than risk a costly ruling. Although not a UK legal case, the Sydney Olympics website did result in a costly lawsuit.
If your website is not fully accessible it also prevents an important sector of the market from visiting your website and viewing your products and information. 20% of people in the UK have some form of disability according to figures released by the W3C.
A Fresh Approach
The government, in association with the Disability Rights Commission (DRC), has started to put a framework in place that will ensure website accessibility to the contents of the World Wide Web for people with disabilities, as detailed in the Disability Discrimination Act. Therefore, in future, the way that websites are built will need to change. Webtrendz implements accessibility options and builds accessible websites for companies throughout England and the UK which comply with these guidelines.
Essentially, those with a disability will need to be considered, with changes to the way that websites are produced. For example, each element of a website page will require a basic written description.
Webtrendz builds websites which satisfy the Government's requirements for web accessibility design. We will also comply with the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines for accessibility at WCAG 1.0 Level-A (accessibility options which must be implemented) and advise whether levels Double-A ( should be implemented) and Triple-A ( may be implemented) need to be applied. We will discuss with you the appropriate level of compliance for your website and will design and build it to this level.
Compatibility
Standards
We have heard it said that "anyone can build a web page - so why do I need you?". Well anyone can build a web page but few do it well or within the legal guidelines for web accessibility design.
Every page on this website complies with the HTML 4.01 standard. In other words anyone who has bought a computer in the last 4 years can view any page we build.
We apply this level of skill to your website too.
