The Commercial Benefits of Producing Accessible Web Sites
01/06/2006 - London
The Commercial Benefits of Producing Accessible Web Sites
Reading Room's CEO Margaret Manning is to speak at the Online Marketing Show on 7 June at the Royal Horticultural Halls, London.
Margaret will explain how placing accessibility and usability at the heart of the design process positively influences the user experience, thereby generating significant commercial success.
Usability and accessibility are inter-related and compatible approaches to website and intelligent digital design. Designing for diversity not only increases the number of people able to access your website but also increases their level of involvement with it. This is not only good social practice, but in general, good business practice.
Businesses are constantly looking to increase market share and this is readily achieved online by improving the accessibility of a company's web sites. More and more business are beginning to understand the requirements of various user groups and finding a way to design a user experience that meets their needs.
Margaret will highlight how Reading Room encourages its business clients to embrace usability and accessibility by:
- Ensuring that the requirements for accessible design are made explicit in the planning of projects
- Undertaking design research in addition to knowing how to apply accessible design guidelines
- Adopting user-engagement in all phases of their design projects.
- Promoting the online marketing business benefits of accessible design
- Advising on relevant legislation
Margaret Manning, CEO Reading Room
"Some people accuse accessibility as a concept too difficult to implement, when of course it is simply a component of usability good practice. Usability is about making your site easy to use and accessibility is ensuring your site is a good user experience for everyone. Reading Room ensures that our clients understand the importance of accessibility and usability and not considered as an afterthought. From the start of the planning process they are prime ingredients for successful online marketing".
