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XENTICA

Xentica web & internet solutions

15/12/03
What is Accessibility?

One of the most important factors in the success of the Internet is that it's open to use by anyone. It's vitally important therefore that your web site or online facility is available to as many people as possible.

Accessibility covers a huge number of issues and conditions but is basically concerned with ensuring that anyone can access your information or use your site without restriction.

Particularly affected groups include visually impaired people (blind, colour blind, short or long sighted), dyslexic people and people with motor disabilities (who may not be able to use a mouse) - these are usually the groups focused on when it comes to creating an accessible resource. These main groups can be summarised by:

When you stop to think that there are two million people with sight problems in the UK who cannot read standard print*, the number of people you could be excluding soon mount up. You should also note that it's a legal requirement to provide information and services in an accessible format.

Current web standards used to help achieve optimal accessibility for UK sites include the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), specifically the Web Accessibility Initiative, the RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind), Bobby and guidance from UK Government, as provided on the e-envoy website.

No matter what function your site performs, who your target audience are and whether it's a new or existing project, accessibility is relevant and needs to be addressed. To find out more about how Xentica can help with your accessibility issues please contact us.

* Statistic from the RNIB website, December 2003

 

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