1. Does My Website Have To Be Accessible in 2008?

You do have a responsibility at some level, whether or not you are the designer or the commissioner of the website, to ensure your website design does not discriminate against disabled visitors to your site.

2. So what happens if your website design is not accessible?

Unsurprisingly, you leave yourself open to criticism, bad press and and more seriously legal action if your site is not accessible.

3. What level of compliance should your website design meet?

No case has been brought to court in the United Kingdom to date, so there is no case law guidance. In any event, case law can only provide broad guidance - what websites have to do may vary from site to site. What is important, however, is the outcome: the DDA requires that you make what it refers to as “reasonable adjustments”, to your services to ensure that a person with a disability can access that service. This means making changes to websites - which offer 24 hour service, and a variety of features not available via, for example, a telephone service - so that disabled people can use them.

4. Web Accessibility Opinion

Basically, you need to make sure your site is built to W3C standards for good website design. That means valid html and valid css. It means passing Priority 1 W3C WCAG (Google it!) at least. It means well formed website code (i.e. without errors) and simple and correct use of technologies. Actually - this is fairly simple to do for an experienced web designer - do not accept that you need to pay more for accessible web design - it should come as standard, part of good practice web design. You could go one step further and ask “vision impaired” testers to test drive the site. Finally, you need to listen to your web site visitors. If someone contacts you about the inaccessibility of your web site - then fix it!

There’s a business case and moral obligation to make your site as accessible as you can. There are over 8 Million people registered as having a disability in the UK, and a lot of them use the net - do you really want to ignore them? Prosecutions have been successful in Australia and the US - it will happen in the UK, just not any time soon - so don’t worry too much about prosecution - and don’t listen to the snake oil salesman who want your hard earned cash for total website redevelopment!

www.mayhemmatthew.com

A staircase lift is the best solution for old and disabled people who want to stay independently in their own domicile. The staircase lift has been a well-established product in most industrialized countries for many years. There are different providers offering stairlifts in those countries. If you are searching a staircase lift in Germany, I can recommend the following site, which gives some basic info on German providers: Treppenlift.

It is very useful to collect as many aspects as possible before making a final decision because a staircase lift is a costly investment. Here are some more points to consider and some major benefits which arise from the use of a staircase lift:

Persons, whose ability to climb stairs is reduced for example by illness, accident or disability, will greatly profit from a staircase lift. It is useful to consider reduced bodily ability, which might come with increasing age, and plan the purchase of a staircase lift early enough. So you should collect sufficient information and ask your children or grandchildren to help you. Not only is a staircase lift a fantastic help for you to reach upper floors, but you can also use it to transport food, drinks and other stuff upstairs. When searching the best company, you should not only consider the rate but also think about other aspects like if there is quick service available in case of malfunction. A lot of old people with physical problems can stay in their homes and familiar neighbourhood with the help of a staircase lift. Some of those people would have to leave their homes if such technical devices were not availabable.

The most important providers of stairlifts provide a statewide service and distribution system. They should be able to show you an already installed staircase lift at another customers home near your location. Always ask if the first consultation is free of charge. With a staircase lift in your domicile you can sustain mobility and easily reach every floor of the house. This is interesting not only for house owners but also for tenants of apartments with more than one floor. More info on some leading German providers can be found here: www.treppen-lift.org. Each staircase lift must fulfill very specific requirements and must be manufactured and installed accurately. It is important to know whether you have a straight staircase or curved staircase. In case of a curved staircase, the whole project will be more expensive. It is recommended to choose one of the most important providers with many years of experience. They will not only provide good service but may also offer payment in installments.