TECHNOLOGY
An astonishing 98% of websites fail to be fully compliant with the web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG). Now is the time for your business to start taking it seriously
Making your website accessible is a win-win that makes business sense WHAT IS WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY AND WCAG?
WHY WASN’T MY SITE BUILT TO BE ACCESSIBLE?
For the majority of website owners full compliance as part of the build process simply isn’t economically viable due to cost or technical limitations (i.e. CMS frameworks, drag and drop builders, third party themes, plugins etc.). The cost of making a website fully compliant is usually more than the cost of building the site in the first place.
The WCAG is a set of internationally recognised guidelines detailing how a website should behave to make it accessible to people with disabilities. In summary your site should be available to all users, including those with disabilities such as vision or motor impairment, epilepsy, or ADHD.
WHY SHOULD MY WEBSITE BE ACCESSIBLE?
WHAT ARE THE BUSINESS BENEFITS?
The legal requirement If you’re based in the US or EU, or your website is targeting users in these regions, your website is legally required to be accessible. In the UK, commercial and SME websites’ accessibility rules are covered by the Equality Act 2010 that states website owners must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to make their site accessible to people with disabilities.
Protection from legal action Website accessibility claims against businesses are on the rise and increasing year-on-year.
It’s the right thing to do By making your website accessible for all, you’re giving equal opportunity to access online resources that significantly help our everyday lives. 20% of the population live with some form of disability, and yet only 2% of the internet is currently accessible to them.
Opportunity and increased revenue With 20% of the population, or 1.3 billion people globally, living with a disability; there is a potential reach of nearly £6 billion annually.
Brand exposure and awareness One of the most valuable benefits to UK organisations making their website accessible now is the opportunity to reach 20% more of the population by having an inclusive ethos.
Learn more by visiting www.akikodesign.com/accessibility
Websites are often dynamic in nature and part of an ever-changing environment, so what may be compliant today, might not be in a week’s time. Therefore it’s also not a one-off piece of work, but more of an ongoing requirement.
AN AFFORDABLE SOLUTION
Akiko Design offers WCAG compliance without costly website development, using AI technology to automatically adjust your existing content to make it available to users with vision or motor impairments. Now is the time to get ahead of competitors, open up new revenue streams and support the disabled community, with what was once an extremely expensive investment, now an affordable opportunity with pricing from as little as £49 per month.
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