Standards & Conventions

UK Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Will companies with no plans for web accessibility be prosecuted?
What official guidelines or standards exist for web accessibility?
What on earth is W3C WAI?
What are the guidelines?
Do I have to get it all done at once?
Are there any other important standards?
Where should I start?

UK Disability Discrimination Act 1995

Section 21 of the Act gives disabled people improved rights of access to goods, facilities and services. Department of Education and Employment advice says:

"As a service provider, you might discriminate against a disabled person in two ways:

By treating him or her less favorably than other customers because of their disability; or

By not making reasonable adjustments to the way you deliver your services, so that disabled people can use them."

In October 2004 the Act came into full effect, leaving businesses no defense unless they have at least a coherent plan for implementing "reasonable adjustments".

Will companies with no plans for web accessibility be prosecuted?

Probably. The government-funded Disability Rights Commission reported in April 2004 that "swathes of businesses may not be complying with existing equal access laws" and that it is "only a matter of time" before they face legal action from disabled consumers.

Australia has its own Disability Discrimination Act and as long ago as 2000 Bruce Maguire successfully sued the organizers of the Sydney Olympics for excluding him, as a blind user, from the content of their site. The case helped "road-test" some of the legal arguments involved in this area.

What official guidelines or standards exist for web accessibility?

Fortunately the UK government and major charitable organizations agree on what companies should do: implement the 14 accessibility guidelines issued by W3C WAI.

What on earth is W3C WAI?

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international organization which develops standards for the internet. It comprises the great and the good of the internet plus people from governments and technology companies the world over.

The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is a working party set up by W3C to set standards for making web pages accessible to as many people as possible. The first major output from this group was a set of guidelines which are seen as a standard all over the world.

W3C is currently drafting a new (simpler) set of WAI guidelines. In the meantime, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 is the accepted standard.

What are the guidelines?

Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content Don't rely on color alone Use mark-up and style sheets and do so properly Clarify natural language usage Create tables that transform gracefully Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces Design for device-independence Use interim solutions Use W3C technologies and guidelines Provide context and orientation information Provide clear navigation mechanisms Ensure that documents are clear and simple

You can explore these guidelines in more detail at W3C's site

Do I have to get it all done at once?

This is where the WAI offers some welcome common-sense. Accessibility can be phased - there is no need for a "Big Bang" approach. In fact, the WAI offers three levels of accreditation (each with its own rather ugly-looking badge to put on your site if you want to):

A - the site incorporates all the "must-have" checkpoints of the WAI guidelines. This gives basic access to most groups of disabled users. This level of accreditation should be every company's initial target - it is eminently achievable.

AA - the site incorporates all the "should-have" checkpoints. This brings down all of the significant barriers to users. Can be achieved with a bit more planning and investment.

AAA - the site incorporates all the "may-have" checkpoints. Needs significant levels of planning and investment. May not be of practical merit for commercial organizations.

What's more a published statement of intent will often be enough to protect companies against action or adverse publicity while work is being carried out. However this would need to be credible and reflect an understanding and acceptance of WAI guidelines.

Are there any other important standards?

The Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) offers its own accreditation - the See It Right mark. It draws on some of the same WAI guidelines described above. RNIB describe it as sitting 'between the WAI "A" and "AA" standards'. Winning the mark also gets you inclusion on a list of "approved" companies on the See It Right web site - a resource for blind and partially-sighted internet users.

Where should I start?

Talk to us. We have put together a program of evaluation, planning and implementation support that will get accessibility moving without impacting your commercial performance. Find out more about our accessibility services.

1Line Design LTD