7 Jul 2006 10:23
InfoD-Cafe: PAS 78: New British recommendations for accessible web site design
Conrad Taylor <conrad <at> ideograf.demon.co.uk>
2006-07-07 08:23:58 GMT
2006-07-07 08:23:58 GMT
A new document from the British Standards Institution gives practical advice about how organisations can take steps to ensure that their Web sites are accessible to people with disabilities. Recently, the Disability Group of the British Computer Society held a public meeting to announce and discuss this document. MP3 recordings from this meeting are now available on line. PAS 78 "A guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites" is a "Publicly Accessible Specification" document of the British Standards Institution. The PAS classification denotes something that doesn't have the degree of consensus and ratification behind it to count as a full British Standard, but nevertheless in the absence of case law is as close as we get in Britain to an "official" standard for accessible design. Note that it is aimed at the people and organisations commissioning Web sites; it isn't a technical document for developers. On 1 June 2006, Julie Howells of the Royal National Institution of the Blind and Giles Colborne of the Usability Professionals Association spoke to a meeting of the BCS Disability Group to outline its recommendations and to lead a discussion on its implications. Both Giles and Julie took part in the drafting of PAS 78, and Julie was its Technical Author.(Continue reading)
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