We believe that your web site should be accessible and usable by everyone... and as importantly the government believes it too!
Bottom line (placed near the top for clarity)... web sites that are accessible and usable make (and save) more money, spread more ideas and do more business. Why wouldn't we be interested in that?
Accessibility
The 1998 Disability and Discrimination Act introduced a requirement for businesses to make their online services available to all. The legal force of the act came into law in 2003.
At Semantic we say that the Act is neither here nor there... the combined spending power of the over 50s and disabled communities in the UK is in excess of £225 Billion. Are you sitting up now?
At Semantic we ensure your site meets and exceeds the required standard of accessibility by taking the following steps:
- providing an accessible text version of the site
- ensuring that tables are not used for layout
- adding ALT tags to all images
- providing Access Keys for all users
As developers we keep abreast of best practice in accessibility but we also work closely with a specialist agency in this area... and these guys do accessibilty for NHS Direct, so they know what they are about.
Psst...
Plus, in case you aren't convinced, there is a secret benefit to accessibility. Google accesses your website in the same was a visually impaired user with a screen reader. Optimise for accessibility and your search engine ranking is likely to improve. Bonus.
Usability
Simple question. What is your web site for?
We know from experience that in almost all cases 80% of your users will only use 20% of your services. Usability is about making those numbers work for you.
With an attraction for example, we know that the most popular questions people "ask" a web site are:
- how much will it cost?
- when are you open?
- how do I get there?
... make it easy for users to answer these questions and you (we) are more than half-way there.
It's no accident that I started this section with the word "simple". Einstein said that everything should be "as simple as possible, but no simpler"... he just didn't realise he was speaking about web design & usability.
Calling us is... er... simple
If you are interested in finding out more about accessibility and usability please do give us a call. Alternatively look at your web site and ask your self this question. "What is my web site for? Discuss."