Accessibility legislation is coming

Europe has just passed legislation requiring all public website to be "Accessible" by 2010, and it is only a matter of time before the New Zealand Government do the same. Is your site ready for accessibility law?

What is Accessibility?

Accessibility is the ability of a website to be accessed and used by someone who has a disability, and the level of accessibility is regulated in the U.S.A, Australia, and now all of the European Union. Accessibility is also indirectly guaranteed under human rights laws, but many lawmakers see the internet age as an ideal opportunity to better include disabled people than they historically have in other areas of life.

How do I make my website accessible?

A well designed website will usually be accessible with very little work needed, but there are many pitfalls to avoid and a good web developer can help you with these. When designing a website make sure you specify accessibility as one of the key objectives of the design, and ensure that your designer or developer designs and tests the design using the accessibility tools that are available.

Here are some links to accessibility resources:

Developing with Web Standards - 456 Berea Street
http://www.456bereastreet.com/lab/developing_with_web_standards/accessibility/

Internet for all: EU ministers commit to an inclusive and barrier-free information society - Europa 
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/769&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en