Section 508: Help for your Accessibility Needs
Your Web site may be preventing you from tapping into a very lucrative market.
Currently, nearly 40 million people, out of a total U.S. population of 300 million, have some form of visual, auditory, mobility, or cognitive disability. Nearly 50% of these individuals are actively employed in the workplace, and the estimated disposable income of people with disabilities in America is approximately $200 billion dollars per year. Additionally, nearly 70 million "Baby Boomers" will reach the age of 65 during the next 15 years. And nearly 50% of Americans over the age of 65 will develop some type of disability.
| A federal court in California recently ruled against the Target Corporation in a class action suit claiming that its Web site contains significant barriers that prevent blind customers from browsing and purchasing items online, as well as from finding corporate information such as employment opportunities and investor news. The revelation that even a retail giant like Target is at risk of legal action has some corporations preparing for major retrofits costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. |
Making your Web site accessible to disabled individuals is simply good business. People with disabilities who utilize assistive technologies to interact with computer-based information can only utilize those tools if the Web site has certain design and programming characteristics available. These accessibility features are usually discernable only to the assistive technology user, not to Web site users as a whole.
The investment required to make your site accessible is a tiny fraction of the revenue potential unlocked by doing so.
At EEI Communications, we have a thriving practice in outsourced 508 compliance auditing, compliance implementation, and maintenance. Almost universally, our clients have IT departments capable of handling the work, but other priorities crowd it out. They have found it easier and more cost-effective to outsource the projects to EEI.
Corporations that are first to market with accessible Web sites will quickly acquire a large and loyal following of customers and employees.
