New guidelines on how to make websites more user-friendly for disabled people have been developed by the British Standards Institution (BSI). The work was sponsored by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) after an investigation in April 2004.
The DRC's report into web accessibility found that more than 80% of sites posed barriers to disabled people. Called PAS 78, the guidance is intended for any organisation that has a public-facing website. PAS – or Publicly Available Specification – 78 describes itself as a guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites. It is particularly aimed at the people responsible for commissioning and maintaining public-facing sites.
UK organisations with websites have been legally obliged to make them disabled-friendly since 1999. By following the new guidelines, site owners are likely to be on the right side of the law. The DRC also points out that businesses with accessible websites are in a much better position to tap into the estimated
