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Internet AccessibilityThousands of blind and partially sighted people in the UK are now using the internet to find an enormous amount of information and to use services that were previously unavailable to them, such as online shopping and banking, timetable information, sports results, news, TV and radio listings, etc. An ordinary computer can be equipped with synthesised speech output or braille display technology to enable people who can't see the computer screen easily to use the internet either through sound or by touch. This new technology has the potential to revolutionise the lives of visually impaired people, who until now have been forced to rely on other people for information. However, the technology visually impaired people relies on good web site coding, and will only work properly if web pages are written in correct HTML (hypertext mark-up language). Blind people find many web sites unusable because the coding falls below an acceptable standard. RNIB feels this is unacceptable. In some cases, it may also be unlawful. People with disabilities have a moral (and in some cases a legal) right to be able to use web sites. Too many organisations and designers still fail to recognise this right. There are 2 million blind and partially sighted people in the UK. Can they use your web site?
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