12 August 2005
A study by AbilityNety has found that seven out of ten telecom company websites do not meet a basic level of usability for disabled users.
Under the disability discrimination act, companies have to make sure site content is accessible to all users.
Yet under AbilityNet's ratings system, in which a score of three stars is awarded to a site with adequate provision for disabled users, as many as seven sites scored only two stars or less, BBC News reports.
The study will surely inspire more firms to make sure they provide a better service for web-surfers with disabilities, with a spokeswoman for one company that scored poorly vowing it would take AbilityNet's findings into serious consideration.
She added: "The website is currently being re-designed and is scheduled to launch before the end of the year, taking into consideration the guidelines under the disability discrimination act."
There are also positive signs that websites are becoming more accessible, with two of the sites reviewed achieving a score of four stars.
AbilityNet's web consultancy manager, Robin Christopherson, preferred to focus on the report's more positive findings.
"We are now beginning to see examples of highly professional and accessible sites that prove incontrovertibly that an organisation's website can and should be accessible to the broadest audience possible," he concluded.© Adfero Ltd
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