Accessible websites bring many business benefits other than just complying with the law. The fact of the matter is, making your website accessible to as many people as possible is just sound business sense. Building-in accessibility on a new site costs a small percentage of the overall budget, but the rewards both in terms of PR(Public Relations) and Return on Investment can be excellent.
Take for instance the ability to tap into affluent niche markets. The growing number of business people using PDA’s and mobile phones to access the internet is increasing at a massive rate. Incorporating accessibility into initial development ensures a good number of mobile device users can read your content, with no extra work!
Businesses that adopt a socially responsible attitude and comply with Web Standards acquire positive PR and brand-loyalty. This is an essential way to sustain and strengthen brand value, and keep at the forefront in competitive environments.
Documents such as product sheets can be printed straight from the browser using existing technologies – no need for costly text-only versions of your site, as this can be produced automatically.
Accessibility helps to increase audience reach and market share. This often positively impacts on turnover due to more people using your site.
Accessible websites are inherently more search engine friendly due to the technology applied. Why? Search engines read the contents of a website automatically using search spider software. This interprets pages in a very similar way to screen reading software used by the blind. You can almost think of Google as the web’s biggest blind user. Search engines look favourably on websites that comply with web standards.
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