Website Accessibility

Is your website legal ?

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (the DDA) makes it unlawful to provide a service that is not accessible to everybody. It is irrelevant whether the service is provided with or without payment. The legislation is clearly applicable to information and services supplied via the internet.

The implications for your organisation of having a website that is accessible to disabled visitors is not just that you are conforming with the law. You will also be building a reputation as a company that cares, and delivering your message to a much wider audience.

What is website accessibility?

Web Accessibility means making the website useable by anybody, whatever their ability or disability.

What is the Disability Discrimination Act?

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) aims to end the discrimination which many disabled people face. This Act gives disabled people rights in the areas of:

• Employment
• access to goods, facilities and services
• buying or renting land or property

The access to goods section indicates that website owners should make  reasonable adjustments for disabled people, such as providing extra help or making changes to the way they provide their services.

How can Matrix help with accessibility?

During the development of new websites, Matrix can ensure that a site is compliant with accessibility standards.  For existing sites, we can advise you on appropriate remedial action that can help to improve the accessibility of your website.  This can include rebuilding pages, fixing specific issues within pages, or adding alternative versions of your site which are more accessible.