The key principle underlining accessibility is that websites should be easy for everyone to use, including people with a disability.
Copper Reed can improve website usability through standards based design and good design practices
The percentage of people with disabilities in many populations is between 8% and 20%. Not all disabilities affect access to information technologies such as the web, but many do.
Key Facts & Potential Audiences
- It is estimated that worldwide there are more than 750 million people with disabilities
- In Europe 1 in every 10 people, or approximately 37 million people, have a disability
- In the United States alone there are approximately 10.4 million people (about 4%) who are visually impaired or blind
- Americans with disabilities spend twice as much time on the Internet as those without disabilities. (Harris Poll survey)
- In Ireland 8.3% of population have a disability – almost 324,000 persons (2002 Census). The incidence of disability is higher among females than males (8.7% compared with 7.8%) and nearly two-thirds of those with a disability were aged 50 years or over
- Accessible design benefits the aging population. Research indicates that online users aged between 50 and 65 are the most active online shoppers with over 25% making regular online purchases. Research also shows that the fastest-growing segment is the 65 and over group
- Accessibility is increasingly becoming a legal requirement, especially within the public sector in Ireland and the EU
WAI guidelines not only make pages more accessible to people with disabilities, but also have the side benefit of making pages more accessible to all users
Copper Reed Studio fully understands accessible design and the issues surrounding it.
We have proven expertise in the design, development and maintenance of websites compliant with current Irish and EU government accessibility guidelines. The following sites are good examples of recent Copper Reed Studio developed WAI compliant websites.
Find out more about accessibility