14 May 2007

Designing websites to comply with accessibility standards can have both a positive financial impact and cut the risk of legal action, one expert has advised.

Mark Bagshaw, a quadriplegic IBM business development executive, said that although there is often additional work involved in ensuring a web presence is compliant, the rewards are well worth the effort, Computer World reported.

"Those companies that don't get it see this as a cost. Those companies that do get it see it as an investment," he explained to the website.

In addition to generating additional custom, companies could find that their workforces are boosted by offering accessible technical solutions to staff, added the expert.

This could be vital in tackling skills shortages, while also enabling companies to make a positive socio-economic contribution to a group that is at risk of exclusion.

According to data from the Office of National Statistics, at the start of the millennium more than one in three children living in families with one disabled adult were doing so in a low-income household.

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