Web Accessibility Rises Up The Corporate Agenda

Published 3rd July 2006

New standards are encouraging companies to focus on creating user-friendly Web sites for all...

London, UK - 3rd July 2006 - A boom in companies working to make their websites more user-friendly for everyone is being predicted today, following recent guidance developed by the British Standards Institution (BSI). The standards, sponsored by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) and the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), were issued following a report by the DRC which revealed that over 80% of UK Web sites pose barriers to people living with disability.

“Following the recent BSI announcement, we have already seen a marked increase in the number of enquiries we get that relate to accessibility”, said Terry Hall, Sales Director, UK & Ireland at Tridion, a European provider of Web content management solutions. “We’re seeing organisations taking accessibility seriously as they recognise that it is not just the right thing for them to do, but makes commercial sense too.”

Tridion today announced a partnership in the UK with Reading Room, a leading digital communications agency with a particular focus on helping its clients improve accessibility for commercial advantage. Reading Room is integrating Tridion into a variety of high-profile Web sites including Christian Aid, Queensland Rail, National Archives of Australia and The Ecclesiastical Insurance Group. This will enhance user experience and accessibility for all visitors.

Reading Room is also auditing the new Tridion 5.2 product release to ensure that its content is delivered to meet the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) accessibility checkpoints and the BSI guidelines. Tridion 5.2 utilises Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) as guidance and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as a goal.

Terry Hall continued: “We are delighted to be working with Reading Room who have ideal credentials in this field. The Internet is such an essential medium for communication it is imperative that we ensure that everyone can benefit from the wealth of information it has to offer.”

Margaret Manning, CEO of Reading Room, commented: “Reading Room is very pleased to be partnering with Tridion to drive awareness of accessibility and the importance of ensuring compliance with the new BSI guidelines. Tridion has best in class tools to ensure Web content is always well formatted for screen readers and people alike. Usability is about making your site easy to use and accessibility is ensuring your site provides a good user experience for everyone”.






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