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5. The usability of his Website will be enhanced.
There is a certain degree of overlap between Web accessibility and Web usability.
Usability guru Jakob Nielson has shown that a usability redesign increases the sales/conversion rate of a Website by 100%. Look for the dollar signs in your client's eyes when you tell him this!
6. You'll gain good publicity.
"Make your Website accessible to everyone, Mr. Client, and you can proudly announce it to the world!"
7. Your site won't cause his business to incur legal fees (or bad press).
Although the client has dismissed this as unimportant, now might be a good time to mention it, as he'll be thinking about all that good PR he can get by ensuring his site is accessible.
The RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) and the DRC (Disability Rights Commission) have been exerting pressure on both commercial and government entities to make their Websites accessible. The DRC is currently investigating 1000 Websites to ascertain their accessibility. If your client's Website is on this list, he can expect to hear from them soon.
8. You'll increase your site's reach.
This is a huge topic -- let's talk about it in detail.
Increase Reach via Accessibility
"Disabled people don't access my Website," you might say. Why should I care?"
Well, Mr. Client, check out these statistics (for the UK):
- There are 8.6 million registered disabled people in the UK, totaling 14% of the population (source: DRC)
- One in 12 men, and one in 200 women, has some form of colour blindness, totaling 9% of the UK population (source: Institution of Electrical Engineers)
- Two million UK residents have a sight problem -- that's 4% of the population (source: RNIB)
- There are 12 million people aged 60 or over -- some 21% of the UK population (source: UK government)
Now, there's bound to be some overlap between these groups, but if you add up the numbers, you get a total of 48% of the UK population. That's right -- 48% of the population of the UK, not to mention those of other countries, could potentially face problems using your client's Website.
Beyond Disabilities
Non-disabled people can also experience difficulties on Websites. Not everyone uses the latest version of Internet Explorer, with all the plug-ins and programs that are required for them to have optimal access to every site they come across.
If your Website relies on images, Flash or JavaScript, and fails to provide alternatives, then numerous Web users will be unable to access his site.
Users on slow connections regularly turn images off to enable a quicker download time. Some browsers, such as the text-only Lynx browser, do not display images at all.
Not every user has downloaded the latest Flash plugin that is needed to view the site. Additionally, the download time on Flash Websites is often so long that low bandwidth users lose patience and don't even wait to see the content. Remember, just 17% of Web users in the UK are connected to the Internet via broadband.
JavaScript is unsupported by about 4% of Web users, either because they've turned it off to prevent pop-up ads, or because their browsers don't support it.
WebTV, mobile phones, and PDAs have limited support for large images, Flash and JavaScript. Check your client's site by downloading the free WebTV viewer.
This report was compiled by accessiblility guru Trenton Moss.
If you still have questions, Use our form to put questions to the experts in our members area, its free and easy to use.
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