1 August 2006

Improving the digital accessibility of a website can give small and medium sized enterprises (SME) access to a "potentially lucrative market", claims Sali Earls, the editor of itwales.

By carefully considering the potential market and the web accessibility available to them, small businesses can open up their service to a new range of customers, states the expert.

Recent statistics cited by Ms Earls show that some ten million people in the UK are classed as disabled, with a combined spending power of around £80 billion.

"Whether you develop your website in house, or outsource the job to an expert developer, you owe it to your business to offer every one of your customers an accessible and usable web experience," she asserts.

Alex Metcalf, head of client services at Nomensa, echoes this opinion, suggesting that SMEs should continually monitor the accessibility of their website to ensure that the best possible service is provided to customers.

Sali Earls, who was recently nominated for a Blackberry award for technology writers, adds that web accessibility is key to taking "moral and social responsibilities" as a business owner seriously.

© Adfero Ltd

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