Why Build an Accessible Website?
There are several great reasons to build an accessible web site besides the obvious one of giving equal access to individuals with disabilities.
Building an accessible web site doesn’t cost much more and you gain an expanded audience. It may be costly to build accessibility into an existing web site, but If it is built into the development process from the beginning, the rewards greatly outweigh the cost of implementaion.
It’s the law
Providing equal access to everyone is required by law.
Antidiscrimination legislation in most Western nations…forbids discrimination or unequal treatment on the basis of disability. In most cases, accommodation is actively required: You have no legal basis to sit around and wait for someone to request accomodation or to file a complaint alleging discrimination or unequal treatment.
Like having global navigation, footer navigation, breadcrumbs and search boxes, adding accessibility creates another level of navigation that users can use to view your site.
Everyone benefits
Adding accessibility to any site creates a richer experience for everyone, not just disabled users. Using accessibility tools like the alt and title attributes can enhance the level of detail and information that the web site can provide within its elements, which not only benefits the disabled, but everyone who visits the site.
It adds value
An accessible web site, compared to an inaccessible web site, has greater value because having accessibility built-in means work that doesn’t need to be done later on when the site needs maintenance or upgrading to support new standards or technology, resulting in lower maintenance costs in the long run.
Sooner is better than later
Web technology today is heading towards standards complianceÃ¢â‚¬â€ťone document or version of a site which can be viewed in any browser and on any platform. Having an accessible web site gives the impression of maturity in terms of programming and development.
