housegroover Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 In late July the UK Government released detailed specifications spelling out what official webmasters must do to make net sites usable by everyone. The document lays out just how webmasters should design and test sites so they are easy to use and cater for people with physical disabilities. But the cost of making the changes could mean that few sites become more usable. The document sets out the design process that webmasters should go through when designing a site and the cycle of testing they must undertake to ensure that no-one is excluded. Catriona Campbell, chairperson of the Usability Company and one of the experts consulted for the framework document, said it set out clear advice for anyone creating a website. But, she said, that the government's good intentions could founder because there was little cash to fund the re-design of the 800 or so official websites. "The real problem is budget," she said, "it's not cheap to test for accessibility and usability." The government should make the cash available to carry out the redesign and testing of sites, she said. An added problem was the fact that many local government sites were produced by in-house teams that may be unaware of best practice on usability and accessibility. The government has a stated aim of putting all government services on the web by 2005 but has said little about how easy those websites should be to use. If official websites do not take accessibility and usability seriously, they could leave themselves open to legal action. The Disability Discrimination Act demands that websites are as accessible for people with physical disabilities as those without. The Disability Rights Commission is currently investigating the Read More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3116773.stm Source: BBC News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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