Free Web Site Assessment
If you have an existing web site that you feel is falling short of your expectations, we'll carry out a full assessment of your web site and send you a written report covering...- Graphics sizes and optimisation
- Site navigation
- W3C standards compliance
- Accessibility
- Search engine positioning
- Usability
Your site may be less than ideal for a number of reasons - it may just be old - things change so quickly on the web, that what was accepted practice 3 years ago is now looking jaded, and, in the case of accessibility, it may be breaking the law. It may be because it was built as a ‘starter web site’ by an amateur, just to get a business off the ground and there’s nothing wrong with that except that every business gets to the stage where ‘amateur’ just isn’t good enough (see our comments on design). We can give you - free - advice on how to bring your web site into line with current standards, making it attractive and functional.
The Importance of Being Accessible
OK - here’s the scary bit, but we’ll try and give you an honest and practical view... Ever since the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act in 1998, web site owners have had a responsibility to make the content presented in their web sites accessible i.e. readable and understandable by visitors with disabilities. In the context of web based material, this generally means folks with impaired hearing or vision. There are well established guidelines (the WWW Consortium Accessibility Guidelines or WCAG for short) on what makes a web site accessible. Websites can be graded (in the UK) using 3 standards - the WCAG A Standard, the AA Standard or the AAA Standard.
Am I heading for jail?
In reality, few small or medium sized business will fall foul of the law at the present time. Several large corporations have been taken to court, but generally the process appears to be working 'from the top down'. There are other benefits, however, other than staying out of jail! Visually impaired people spend money online too - many of them may be purchasing or contract staff so if you’re getting substantial traffic through your web site, this is a sector of the market that you cannot afford to ignore if you sell online.