BT Wholesale

INDUSTRY NEWS


5 June 2008

Organisations Should Consider Web Accessibility


There is a great need among businesses to understand corporate obligations and responsibilities when it comes to website design and to this end, every organisation should read 'Publicly Available Specification 78' (PAS 78), it has been claimed.

According to web design firm Fortune Cookie, the PAS 78 document is due to become a British standard, and defines website accessibility as "the ability of people with disabilities to perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with websites".

Julie Howell, director of accessibility at the firm, explained that the document is written in clear language and that it contains instructions on how to ensure that an organisation's website is suitable and accessible for disabled users.

"The one document that all businesses should read and which will become a standard is 'Publicly Available Specification 78' - the guide to good practice," she said.

"When it comes to the law, businesses have to understand that it is their legal duty to make sure that their sites are accessible."

Within the PAS 78 document, figures are recited from a governmental Family Resources Survey which indicated that there are nearly ten million disabled people in Britain with a combined spending power of £80 billion per annum.

© 2006 Adfero Ltd.

MORE INDUSTRY NEWS

  • UPDATED 10/06/2008

    AIM Market 'Continues to Grow'

    Revenue in the market for application architecture and middleware (AIM) grew to $14.1 billion .....