A Business Case For Accessible Website Design
March 20th, 2008
More enlightened businesses recognise that accessibility is a
huge commercial ROI opportunity rather than a regulatory
straightjacket. Disability comes in all kinds of shapes and
forms. The market in the UK alone is worth billions of pounds
per year.
There are 8.6 million registered disabled people in the UK which
amounts to 14% of the population. (Disability Rights
Commission)
There are 1.6 million registered blind users. (Employers’ Forum
on Disability)
Two million UK residents have a sight problem. (RNIB)
One in 12 men and one in 200 women have some form of colour
blindness - 9% of the UK population (IEE)
3.4 million people have disabilities preventing them from using
the standard keyboard, screen and mouse set-up with ease.
(Employers’ Forum on Disability)
There are 12 million people aged 60 or over. (UK government)
UK population is also becoming older which means businesses will
increasingly need to tap into an older - and often affluent -
demographic.
Online businesses are potentially losing out on some £50-£60bn
per year buying power. (Employers’ Forum on Disability)
Accessible websites are search engine friendly meaning better
search engine rankings.
Accessible websites are smaller in file size which means that
pages are served faster. Users/customers can find what they want
more quickly.
Accessible websites are more readily adaptable for handheld and
other devices.
Entry Filed under: Great Web Tips