Website Features

Disability discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) compliance

The key concept is �accessibility�.

The Act has many provisions that are not of concern to web developers. However, what the Act does provide is that it is unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to their disability. In the context of the internet, this affects the construction of websites, in that certain structures such as frames can make it difficult for screen readers to use a site. Also, graphics that do not have a descriptive tag are invisible to screen readers.

Similarly, for users with hearing disabilities, if information is communicated by sound, they cannot understand it unless there is a text description or image. Elements of a site that require use of a mouse are inaccessible or unusable for people with certain physical disabilities. (i.e. if the links are too small, moving, etc)

Colour blindness is something else to consider, links and text must have good contrast so that they can be easily read and identified.

So, in order to comply with this Act, websites must be made accessible and overcome the practical hindrances to people with disabilities accessing them.

This section gives a brief overview of the issues involved. However, it is by no means an exhaustive list of the areas for consideration under the Act in the context of web design and development.