New guidelines on how to make websites more user-friendly for disabled people have been developed by the British Standard Institution [BSI]. The work was sponsored by the Disability Rights Commission [DRC] after an investigation in April 2004. the DRC’S report in to web accessibility found that more than 80% of the sites posed barriers to disabled people. Called PAS 78, the guidance is intended for an organization that has a public-facing website. PAS – or Publicly Available Specification—78 describes itself as a guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites. It is particularly aimed at the people responsible for commissioning and maintaining public-facing sites.
What PAS Covers Commissioning, building, publishing and maintaining website Defining an accessibility policy The Web Accessibility Initiative [WAI] guidelines--why they are important and witch one to follow How to check that a site conforms to best practice Additional measures that go beyond WAI guidance By following the new guidelines, site owners are likely to be on the right side of the law. The DRC also points out that businesses with accessible websites are in much better position to tap in to the estimated 80Bn spent by people with disabilities every year. PAS 78 will help provide disabled people with increased access to information, products and services online. The Royal National Institute for the Blind [RNIB]-witch has had the hand in developing the guidelines—says PAS 78 should help clarify what is required. Although not legally binding, the guidance could well be used in a court case in witch someone is seeking to force an organization to improve the accessibility of its website. thanks, mukesh jain. To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
