Technically the DDA does cover information and services supplied via the internet, though until recently little action had been taken in this area. Campaigning charities, principally the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), have been gently expounding the business benefits of inclusive design, but their approach is about to change; the RNIB is now preparing its first lawsuits against key organisations falling short of the DDA requirements.
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001) (SENDA) amended Part 4 of the DDA to specifically include education, so educational establishments are legally bound to ensure their course-related web content is fully accessible.
Designing web sites for accessibility does not mean stripping away all their styling, leaving pages of enormous, plain text. With careful consideration of the site's content, layout and code, a site can keep all its character and appeal, and still be interpreted readily with access devices other than the most common web browsers. For example, blind users can have accessible pages spoken to them by screen reader software.
A key step towards accessibility is the separation of content (usually words) from its presentation (colour, typeface, size, layout etc). Effective use of cascading style sheets (CSS) goes a long way toward this goal. With their capability to define different behaviours when accessed via a browser, a text-to-speech reader, a PDA or a printer, there's really no excuse not to use CSS in the 21st century.
This allows documents to 'transform gracefully' across access media; they can always be accessed despite disabilities, difficult work environments, and technological barriers.
Well, you should be doing this anyway, but you may need stricter usability standards to be truly inclusive. For example, don't depend solely on graphic cues like image maps for navigation, or colour to convey information.
At Made we create accessible web sites that meet the DDA's requirements without compromising visual design or brand impact.
A recent project, the Which?Extra web site, was written to the XHTML 1.0 Transitional standard, using Cascading Style Sheets for presentation, meeting the "AAA" conformance level of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
In plain English, this means the site can be viewed in all modern web browsers, and other devices such as screen readers, to make the site as accessible as possible. It includes scalable text throughout, and implementation of standard numeric keystroke shortcuts (access keys).
Of course the term 'disability' does not just refer to sight impairment. There are thousands who's physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities mean they are excluded from an enormously empowering tool for everyday life.
By making your web site accessible you will be reaching a wider audience and demonstrating a commitment to reducing discrimination. You will also be obeying the law.
"Made has been particularly good at challenging our thinking, helping us see it from the users' point of view, and bringing accessibility issues to the fore."
Rob Abercrombie
Manager, Which?Extra
Consumers' Association
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