Usability
Usability and accessibility have become buzzwords, but there is so much confusion surrounding what these terms actually mean and what responsibilities brand-owners have under the .

We've always considered usability to be a key requirement. It probably has something to do with the sites we've worked on, but it's also a lot to do with common sense. What is the point of producing something that looks beautiful but cannot be used? It would be like building a shop with no room for products on the shelves.

And when you consider how someone with a disability such as blindness would navigate through your site, the task of creating something engaging and accessible to everyone becomes more tricky.

Fortunately, we know from experience that accessible doesn't mean boring.

When producing work for the Internet, one of the most important questions that we must ask ourselves is "who will be using this website?" Sounds obvious, but knowing the answer to this allows us to begin to fully understand the best ways to deliver the information that we have. It's amazing how often this simple question is overlooked.

At Reading Room, we realize if we want to find out what your audience wants ask them! Our process includes gaining feedback from customers and your web users and drawing on our experience to maximize usability (and accessibility).

Accessibility
Put simply, web accessibility is the ability for people to get to and use information in a website. This includes all online activities such as buying your weekly shopping to finding out dates for an event. For many people with disabilities, poor accessibility can make even these simple tasks almost impossible. In UK law this is considered discriminatory, in the same sense that refusing to serve a person with a disability in a shop would be considered discrimination.

We also know from experience that accessible doesn't mean boring, and have proven this with sites such as www.shelternet.co.uk for the housing charity Shelter and www.drc-gb.org, for the Disability Rights Commission.

By following proven guidelines from the W3C, RNIB and e-Government we produce sites that are available to all your audience and fulfil the law.