DDA Compatability

The growth of the Internet means that people with disabilities now have the opportunity to enjoy the wealth of information and services that were previously unavailable to them, from up-to-the-minute news and travel timetables to online shopping and banking. Some of these services are not accessible to certain groups of disabled people, and the law is changing to induce companies to provide accessible versions of their websites.

The law states that all public places must accommodate for disabled people. Thus, companies are required to implement facilities in their buildings to accommodate disabled people. These include wheelchair access, and Braille documentation. Company websites are now being viewed as public places by the law (Disability Discrimination Act 1995), and so must adhere to the same guidelines.
 
With accessibility becoming increasingly important to meet recommendations set down by the Disability Rights Commission, and to satisfy the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act), it is imperative to ensure that your website supports accessibility features. INTERACT CMS PRO provides an easy and convenient Text Only feature, which helps to ensure that your website meets these standards.

A recent study by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) found that most firms fail to meet the most basic standards of accessibility for disabled people.
 
Among the most common problems discovered, was the absence of alternative text facilities to help users with sensory disabilities. Other firms failed to offer a capability that allows users to change text sizes.
 
The DRC said it was "only a matter of time" before firms faced a legal challenge from disabled consumers under existing equal access laws, principally the DDA 1995.

After extensive research into Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) compatibility for websites INTERACT CMS PRO has been developed with a Text Only feature and an Accessibility Guidelines feature which we recommend is included within all of your website design templates.

Our decision to include DDA compatibility features was based on Local Government and Central Government practice ( see http://www.swindon.gov.uk and http://www.direct.gov.uk ).

We will continue to monitor DDA Compatibility guidelines and best practice in our continuous development.