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A recent survey by the Disability Rights Commission revealed that over 80% of web sites do not meet the minimum standards for accessibility.
The DRC then sponsored the British Standards Institute to produce the PAS (Publicly Available Specification) 78, intended for those responsible for commissioning or maintaining web sites. The PAS was published in March 2006 at £30, and then made freely available on the BSI web site in July 2006.
Most companies are unaware that it is not just the content and the look of a web site that are important: if the pages are not properly constructed, then some people will not be able to use the web site. Unfortunately most web design companies are also unaware of this, so the BSI document serves as a useful list of web site requirements that a company can insist the web designers include in their work.
PAS 78 recognises that most web site designers come from either an art and graphic design background or a computer programming background. To accommodate the designers' probable lack of awareness of the needs of disabled users, the PAS suggests methods of testing a web site with people who have different disabilities. A company could include such testing as part of its web site contract.
The benefits of using PAS78 and to procure an accessible web site include compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), reaching a wider audience, better ratings in search engines, and content that can be viewed on other technologies such as mobile phones. Many more people can use your web site.
Bert Massie, Chairman of the DRC says that "Businesses and the web industry have a responsibility to ensure that the web is barrier free to disabled people. It also makes good business sense." The PAS document is aimed at businesses rather than developers, to provide guidance on what to insist on from their web developers. This is very useful, as there are many web design companies getting wise to the marketing value of claiming that their web sites are accessible, while there are still very few that have the knowledge or experience to deliver.
Tesco and Legal & General are two large companies that insisted that their web sites are designed to comply with the DDA. Both were pleasantly surprised that the improvements made to their web sites appealed to all their customers, with significant returns on investment. The DRC has stated that the publication of PAS78 will result in more legal action being taken against web sites that exclude disabled users. The 56-page document sets out the steps that an organisation should follow to ensure that any new web development accommodates the widest possible audience. It assists with the formation of an accessibility policy.
David King, a member of the Association of Accessibility Professionals, says "it is worrying how many web sites create unnecessary barriers which will lose customers." David, who was the manager of Dudley College's award-winning Web Services, now works for Staffordshire Media, a company that can build fully compliant web sites or provide an easy-to-understand short audit on an existing web site. It is important that company managers and those who commission web sites insist that their company is not losing or alienating customers by having a web site that excludes people. Just as you wouldn't dig up a wheelchair ramp into your building, neither should you allow web site designers to build barriers.