Why is it important to design accessible websites?

The answer is really quite simple. As well as being unfair, it is amazing that any website would want to exclude at least 18% of the UK population.

This fits in with our vision at BT of being "the best provider of communications services and solutions for everybody in the UK and corporate customers worldwide". In addition any company who provides a service to the general public is legally obliged under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to make their information, including web-based information accessible to all customers.

We have put together some basic facts and figures to help you understand why web accessibility is important.

The numbers

The Employers' Forum on Disability estimate that:

There are approximately 10 million disabled adults in the UK covered by the Disability Discrimination Act.
By the year 2010, 40% of the UK population will be over 45 - the age at which the incidence of disability begins to increase significantly.
At least one in four customers either has a disability or is close to someone who is.
The estimated annual purchasing power of people with disabilities is £80 billion.

The Disability Discrimination Act

Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act, which came into force in the UK in 1999, refers to the provision of goods, facilities and services. Web sites fall into the category of services and as such need to be accessible.

Although Part III of the act that refers to the provision of goods and services doesn't specifically mention websites, the Code of Practice for the act gives websites as an example of a service that is covered by the act. The Code of Practice also states:

2.2 : "The Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to members of the public."
4.7 : "From 1st October 1999 a service provider has to take reasonable steps to change a practice which makes it unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of its services."

You can download a PDF of the Code of Practice. Please note this requires Acrobat Reader to view. If you do not have this you can download Acrobat Reader for free.