Does your website discriminate?

Is your organisation unintentionally discriminating against internet users with disabilities?

In recent years, the number of frequent internet users has grown dramatically; the internet is a vital everyday resource for many people worldwide. It is an essential resource for finding opportunities or information on a vast array of subjects including; education, employment, government, health care. There are also many recreational users of the internet too, such as consumers, and children using interactive educational sites.

Every organisation should ask itself: Does our website discriminate? Are there people who may not be able to access, read or understand our website?

Accessibility: With the introduction of new legislation, there has been a long growing awareness of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). The DDA places an emphasis on providing everybody with equal access to goods, facilities and services. If you offer goods, facilities and services via the internet, you should take steps to ensure that users and/or consumers with disabilities are privy to an equal level of online service/facility. With careful planning and responsible design, disabilities that may affect potential visitors to your site can be taken into account, including:

• Motor disabilities
• Visual Impairments
• Seizure Disorders
• Mental Health Disabilities
• Memory Impairments
• Attention Deficit Disorder
• Dyslexia
• Speech Disabilities

A number of these conditions may be more common than you think; several are also known as ‘diminishing abilities’, and will affect many of us as we age. Additionally, at some point in our lives, most of us will be subject to a temporary disability, such as an injury causing loss of dexterity, motor or visual problems.

Think about design of your website carefully: a clear layout and consistent navigational format will make it easier for people suffering from a number of the above conditions to use your website. Additionally, by creating a website that is compliant with current guidelines we can work towards inclusion, rather than exclusion, of any person who may be suffer from these conditions, and so avoid unnecessary discrimination.

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