IT professionals need to ensure they have the skills to
develop websites that are accessible to disabled users, according
to the chairman of the Disability Rights Commission
(DRC).
Commenting on a report by the commission into website accessibility
earlier this month, DRC chairman Bert Massie also called for a
standard for web development to ensure organisations comply with
equal access laws.
The DRC survey of 1,000 government, business and leisure sites
found that the majority of websites fail to provide for the needs
of disabled users.
Common problems cited by disabled people using the web included
cluttered and complex page structures and confusing navigation
mechanisms.
"The government should consider some sort of accreditation for web
developers," said Massie, who warned that UK companies face legal
action if they do not ensure their websites comply with equal
access laws.
"Web developers should be consulting disabled people throughout the
process of creating sites," said Massie. "This campaign is going to
work, and over the next few years the developers not prepared to
look at access issues will not get work."
The steps that online service providers are expected to take
include converting text into speech, making forms accessible via
technology to guide users through sites and providing text
equivalents for important images.
Although there are guidelines for web development, such as the
World Wide Web Consortium's Content Accessibility Guidelines, the
DRC has called for these to be updated and for better training to
be given to IT staff.
Recommendations in the DRC report include incorporating modules on
disability awareness in training courses for website developers;
involving disabled users at an early stage in the design
consultation process; and companies encouraging good practice on
web accessibility.
Lisa Halabi, a usability and accessibility specialist at
consultancy The Usability Company, called for IT staff to be given
more training to ensure compliance with equal access laws.
"Many web developers have heard about the guidelines and may
already be familiar with them to a degree," she said. "However, the
guidelines can be vague and are not prescriptive enough at an
implementation level."
Further information
www.w3.org/WAI
www.drc-gb.org
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