Web Access Code of Practice Update For iPad!

Web product launches are rolled out almost daily, it seems, providing new platforms and opening up channels, which call upon everyone to keep up! The biggest area of concern is inevitably, website accessibility, and latest updates look at legal compliance for products like iPad.

The British Standards Institute (BSI) has just published revised guidelines regarding legal obligations for making web products accessible to the disabled and elderly. The standard is titled ‘BS 8878 Web Accessibility – Code of Practice’, scheduled to be finalised to replace the Disability and Discrimination Act later this year.

BS 8878 addresses ease of accessibility for web products on mobile phones, TVs, game consoles and other computer products, such as iPads – focusing on devices other than desktop computers, which can present access challenges for both developers and users. Developers face further difficulties when successful access on one product does not necessarily translate to all such products.

The guidelines will directly impact website design agencies and their clients, entailing action to be taken to bring sites into line and enable eases of access via the new mediums. The test for meeting the standard takes into account whether an adjustment is reasonable, based on a platform’s importance, popularity and likelihood for use by disabled or elderly users, although it may seem to business owners that it’s highly unlikely that senior citizens would be accessing the net via an iPad in large numbers!

The standard applies to software in many cases, as well as to websites and web products.

However, it does represent an enforced ‘catch up’ opportunity for many companies who have yet to bring their sites up to date to more truly reflect today’s web environment. Consumer behaviours are changing as a result of the new technologies and as a consequence, company activities, e.g. online marketing, need to adapt to be responsive to rapidly emerging platforms like mobile internet, driven by mobile applications.

It might even be  suggested that a general website refresh would be in order at the same time, to keep both regular visitor interest engaged and search engine indexing active.

Many new platforms do not include the technology necessary to satisfy the new standard, and both business owners and their website designers must take into consideration any platform that can support a particular web product.

BS 8878 was designed to assist developers, providing a comprehensive guide for ensuring compliance of their products, and to explain accessibility in language that designers and the general public can understand.