Website Patronization Hinges on Quality
Published: Jun 22, 2007
Failure to tackle basic accessibility problems can lead to the Website owner loosing billions of dollars worth business, according to research from technology access charity AbilityNet.
The survey by AbilityNet was conducted among 100 people with disabilities, including vision impairment. It was found that they patronized mainstream websites for information, shopping, banking or leisure, rather than websites expressly focused on their disability. The top website destinations included the BBC, Nationwide building society, Google, eBay, Amazon, the Guardian and Times newspapers, Lastminute.com, Premierleague.com and Yahoo.
The report pointed to the greater accessibility of these websites compared to those of their rivals as the reason for their choice. Basic design flaws also were cited to be reasons why many websites were inaccessible. The flaws in designing include non-adjustable text size, images not labeled properly and overuse of animations.
Website owners who do not give due attention to these issues stand the risk of loosing valuable business to their rivals. In the report, author Robin Christopherson estimates the purchasing power of these internet users at more than 150 billion dollars. The arguments are indeed compelling.
He pointed out that, “Whether from a moral, legislative or commercial perspective, suppliers of goods, services and information on the Internet are ignoring a highly significant market sector at their peril.”  Â
Source: E-Access Bulletin
