Comments on: Accessibility and UK small businesses http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/ Working together for standards Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:19:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Asp_net_2_0_Rocks http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/comment-page-1/#comment-6471 Asp_net_2_0_Rocks Sat, 30 Sep 2006 18:10:32 +0000 http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/#comment-6471 very sad indeed, it has to be properly educated and more importantly enforced to some extent. very sad indeed, it has to be properly educated and more importantly enforced to some extent.

]]> By: Mark http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/comment-page-1/#comment-6025 Mark Mon, 25 Sep 2006 18:18:54 +0000 http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/#comment-6025 I feel that the main point is slightly different. As Jake replied What’s worse, some companies that examine a website’s usability and accessibility know very little too, this pulls it down to one thing "Leraning". There are too few resources that actually teach correct accessibility development. Resources found within the web are too few and some of them are very hard to understand. There are naturally sites out there that tutor using working examples, but the majority of developers dont have the resources to test working projects. Using <a href="http://www.w3c-standards.com" rel="nofollow">w3c standards</a> with <acronym title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</acronym> and <acronym title="Extensible Hypertext Markup Language">XHTML</acronym> are the most relevant items at the moment, when a developer can get to grips with these elemnets then they should go further and think about creating the site with the correct mark-up and add the extras to create a site that is accessible. I feel that the main point is slightly different. As Jake replied What’s worse, some companies that examine a website’s usability and accessibility know very little too, this pulls it down to one thing “Leraning”.

There are too few resources that actually teach correct accessibility development. Resources found within the web are too few and some of them are very hard to understand. There are naturally sites out there that tutor using working examples, but the majority of developers dont have the resources to test working projects.

Using w3c standards with CSS and XHTML are the most relevant items at the moment, when a developer can get to grips with these elemnets then they should go further and think about creating the site with the correct mark-up and add the extras to create a site that is accessible.

]]> By: Tim Anderson http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/comment-page-1/#comment-784 Tim Anderson Thu, 11 May 2006 00:47:33 +0000 http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/#comment-784 UK government websites are a little better on aversage than Australian government sites. I work part-time for a major University publisher who have a shockwave movie on their homepage, they don't use the tag or provide any alternatives to the shockwave home page movie. They looked at me like I had two heads when I submitted a report on how they are breaching the Australian Disability discrimination Act 1992. http://www.hereticpress.com/Dogstar/Publishing/UKweb.html UK government websites are a little better on aversage than Australian government sites. I work part-time for a major University publisher who have a shockwave movie on their homepage, they don’t use the tag or provide any alternatives to the shockwave home page movie. They looked at me like I had two heads when I submitted a report on how they are breaching the Australian Disability discrimination Act 1992.

http://www.hereticpress.com/Dogstar/Publishing/UKweb.html

]]> By: Anthony Otyehel http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/comment-page-1/#comment-660 Anthony Otyehel Mon, 08 May 2006 08:28:00 +0000 http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/#comment-660 I think what comes across more than anything is that there is nothing in black and white (so to speak) that states where the responsibility lies and what the legal implications are. What IS compliant? How many of the checkpoints in WCAG 1.0 are subjective (alternative descriptions for one). I agree that SMEs look at accessibility as low on their priority as it seems overcomplicated and costly - and puts more onus on them 'thinking' about their content and taking some responsibility. When this is passed onto some agencies, even the agencies turn a blind eye and use the 'well, the client never asked for it' excuse. I'd like to think that the more professional of us will take the view that we should be building accessibility into our solutions as a given, and not compromise. Having come up to speed with creating accessible websites myself, I cannot go back. I would find it irresponsible to create anything new that was't compliant. We also need to look at the responsibility of adaptive technologies moving with the times and having standards that they work to as well. Web design is still young, and as long as the technolgies keep changing and shaping the online experience, this subject will always be playing catch up. At least with printed media, nearly every possible combination and use of ink on paper and finishing has been explored - with the web we haven't even scratched the surface. I think what comes across more than anything is that there is nothing in black and white (so to speak) that states where the responsibility lies and what the legal implications are.

What IS compliant? How many of the checkpoints in WCAG 1.0 are subjective (alternative descriptions for one).

I agree that SMEs look at accessibility as low on their priority as it seems overcomplicated and costly – and puts more onus on them ‘thinking’ about their content and taking some responsibility. When this is passed onto some agencies, even the agencies turn a blind eye and use the ‘well, the client never asked for it’ excuse.

I’d like to think that the more professional of us will take the view that we should be building accessibility into our solutions as a given, and not compromise.

Having come up to speed with creating accessible websites myself, I cannot go back. I would find it irresponsible to create anything new that was’t compliant.

We also need to look at the responsibility of adaptive technologies moving with the times and having standards that they work to as well.

Web design is still young, and as long as the technolgies keep changing and shaping the online experience, this subject will always be playing catch up.

At least with printed media, nearly every possible combination and use of ink on paper and finishing has been explored – with the web we haven’t even scratched the surface.

]]> By: Nick Toye http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/comment-page-1/#comment-494 Nick Toye Sun, 30 Apr 2006 14:16:46 +0000 http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/#comment-494 Many of the SME's that I have approached have basically brought their decisions down to money, if they can get a bedroom designer to do it for free on front page, or if the boss of the company has bought into these clone-esque type sites for £200, they tend not to even think about the legal implications. I even worked for an agency who had a client that purposely didn't want any product that had any remnants of accessibility about it. He didn't care about the reprecussions. Ask the Sydney Olympics web team if they wish they had paid more attention to accessibility. Many of the SME’s that I have approached have basically brought their decisions down to money, if they can get a bedroom designer to do it for free on front page, or if the boss of the company has bought into these clone-esque type sites for £200, they tend not to even think about the legal implications.

I even worked for an agency who had a client that purposely didn’t want any product that had any remnants of accessibility about it. He didn’t care about the reprecussions.

Ask the Sydney Olympics web team if they wish they had paid more attention to accessibility.

]]> By: Pig Pen - Web Standards Compliant Web Design Blog » Blog Archive » Accessibility And UK Small Businesses http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/comment-page-1/#comment-486 Pig Pen - Web Standards Compliant Web Design Blog » Blog Archive » Accessibility And UK Small Businesses Sun, 30 Apr 2006 03:59:02 +0000 http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/#comment-486 [...] Accessibility And UK Small Businesses - Andy Higgs’ 9000 word dissertation. WaSP have an article on it and I notice Andy Clarke is onto it too. [...] [...] Accessibility And UK Small Businesses – Andy Higgs’ 9000 word dissertation. WaSP have an article on it and I notice Andy Clarke is onto it too. [...]

]]> By: Jake Archibald http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/comment-page-1/#comment-484 Jake Archibald Sat, 29 Apr 2006 17:49:25 +0000 http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/#comment-484 What's worse, some companies that examine a website's usability and accessibility know very little too. A report was done on a site I created and they slated it for not using external stylesheets. It did, it's just that I used @import rather than 'link' and they didn't know what was going on. The future isn't bright. What’s worse, some companies that examine a website’s usability and accessibility know very little too.

A report was done on a site I created and they slated it for not using external stylesheets. It did, it’s just that I used @import rather than ‘link’ and they didn’t know what was going on.

The future isn’t bright.

]]> By: Paul http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/comment-page-1/#comment-483 Paul Sat, 29 Apr 2006 17:19:56 +0000 http://www.webstandards.org/2006/04/29/accessibility-and-uk-small-businesses/#comment-483 Sad indeed. But this lack of public awareness doesn't surprise me at all. I've got the impression that only webdevelopers - and then again only the ones who are motivated to update their skills - are aware of the accessibility problem. I've talked a lot to people about accessibility and I always get the same reactions. Oh...never heard of this...interesting though. Or...yeah...the disabled...but this is minor problem in e-business, isn't it? I'm currently working on a memorandum to analyise the legal aspects of accessibility as part of my master in law (but only French law). Sad indeed. But this lack of public awareness doesn’t surprise me at all. I’ve got the impression that only webdevelopers – and then again only the ones who are motivated to update their skills – are aware of the accessibility problem. I’ve talked a lot to people about accessibility and I always get the same reactions. Oh…never heard of this…interesting though. Or…yeah…the disabled…but this is minor problem in e-business, isn’t it?

I’m currently working on a memorandum to analyise the legal aspects of accessibility as part of my master in law (but only French law).

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