Are you concerned about web accessibility standards?

[Lawcom]

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I wasn't talking about clean code, that's a given, more attitudes to special needs access and design..

[moredial]

I wasn't talking about clean code, that's a given, more attitudes to special needs access and design..

If you code a page such that it makes sense for special needs, then you will also find that you have coded a page which makes sense to search engine algorithms - they do rank on relevance after all and if someone using a screen reader can't follow your page, nor will a search engine.

The simple check is to view the page without images and without css - rather like the version you see when you view Google's text only cache. If this view does not make sense then you need to start again and move elements around until your layout does make sense.

[Nashie]

Indeed.

I think there is a perception that to make a site accessible costs too much time and money, this is simply not the case at all.

The benefits of embracing accessibility have so many positive knock-on effects such as a boost in search ranking and easy to maintain html (which therefore costs less) - that why on earth would you not embrace it?

As accessibility overlaps with usability (in fact I remember reading one definition which described it as a sub-set of usability), and the fact that usability will improve conversion rate, the idea that you design a site to make money first then add on accessibility as some kind of bolt-on module afterwards is ridiculous. Designing for usability and accessibility means you are designing for the way your customers interact with sites, making it easier for them to go through the conversion funnel, by doing this - you are designing a site geared up to making money.

I can understand that people will want to find a pragmatic balance and will not necessarily implement WCAG to the letter, but the benefits of basic accessibility have very real effects for all of your customers not just a small subset.

[Lawcom]

nope there we go the techy social workers are in .. as if sheets of notepad make great sites that attract people.. it's not all about search engines either, I would say engaging your audience and bringing them back is far more important..

interaction, perhaps bits of flash, colour schemes which are out with colour blindness etc etc all these elements can make for a far more exciting and land worthy site.. the effect on accessibility can be unfavourable but the effect on your customer base is to return and tell others to go there, far more productive ...

I think pete put it best when he refferred to "cut my loses" I would say that if any loses have to be cut don't do it against the people who are most likely to buy...

[Nashie]

nope there we go the techy social workers are in

Hello to you too.

.. as if sheets of notepad make great sites that attract people.. it's not all about search engines either, I would say engaging your audience and bringing them back is far more important..

No it's not all about engines (although would you say an extra 30% referrals from search engines is worth turning down???), thats why I used the term 'pragmatism' earlier.

At no point have I said create a bland looking website, the fact that you equate accessibility with bland websites suggests you have a very limited grasp what you are talking about.

interaction, perhaps bits of flash, colour schemes which are out with colour blindness etc etc all these elements can make for a far more exciting and land worthy site.. the effect on accessibility can be unfavourable but the effect on your customer base is to return and tell others to go there, far more productive ...

It is possible to find the right balance between accessibility and aesthetics, and for anyone running an e-commerce site its a pragmatic attitude that you need to adopt - just because I invest in accessibility and usability it does not automatically mean I work on websites that don't include rich media, its about understanding how best to implement them, I'd recommend you read 'designing accessible websites' by Jeremy Sydik, its a practical guide to understanding how to implement accessiblity with sections on different forms of multimedia including technologies like flash.

[Lawcom]

I think that is exactly my point, no need to be a b itchy hairdresser about it..

I recommend you read the book that is not up your own a ss before suggesting others should follow you..

God you even sound like a social worker lol