Accessible Web Design

Increase your audience size with a more accessible web site.

Ensuring that your web site is designed with accessibility in mind will benefit your business, your site visitors and your customers. Microbubble web design understands the accessibility issues faced by visitors with disabilities, and has the expertise to ensure that your site remains accessible without compromising the design.

Consideration for Disabilities

When discussing accessible design with clients, the initial reaction is usually:

Do I really need to worry about visitors with disabilities? I'm not expecting many to visit my site.

The answer is most definitely, Yes. And here is why:

  • According to the RNID, there are over 10 million disabled people in the UK, with an estimated spending power in excess of £50 billion.
  • Accessibility is a legal requirement. Since 1999, the UK Disability Discrimination Act legislates that any web site that provides a service, must not discriminate against a disabled person. Whilst many web sites do not currently comply with the law, the RNIB along with the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) has recently been exerting pressure on companies to make their sites accessible, warning some firms that they may face legal action if they fail to do so.

Usability and Accessibility

Good web design incorporates the needs of the disabled by adopting industry best practices. Some of the main design issues that Microbubble addresses with all work undertaken, are outlined below:

  • Blind and partially-blind visitors are increasingly visiting web sites with the assistance of screen-reader software that provides an aural interpretation of the site content. How such software interprets this content differs drastically from that of a visitor viewing the site: layout and graphics are ignored; navigation is read aloud; the order of the site content must be considered; online forms and tabular data must be screen-reader friendly.
  • Colour-blind and visually-impaired visitors (including elderly visitors) must also be considered: font size and colour contrast should be adjustable to suit their needs.
  • The keyboard is mightier than the mouse! Whilst a computer mouse is a convenient way of navigating a web site, not all visitors have the co-ordination to do so. Visitors with motor-disabilities or co-ordination difficulties, such as the elderly, often use the keyboard to navigate. The site structure should accommodate such requirements.