Marketing Skills: E-marketing: Ensuring your Website is DDA Compliant

Course Overview

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 does not just cover the accessibility of your physical premises; it covers your virtual presence as well.Your e-channels (websites and e-communications) are legally required to be accessible to anyone with a disability.'81% of websites failed to meet the most basic criteria for conformance to web accessibility guidelines'- Source: Disability Rights Commission. Evaluations undertaken by disabled users show that many websites from well-known organisations are difficult for people with certain impairments, especially those who are blind, to have access to the full range of services provided. Equally, many websites are not adequately meeting the practical needs of other targeted groups wishing to access content quickly and easily. So what has this got to do with marketers? This workshop will ensure that you take into account fundamental usability issues when planning, designing, updating and maintaining your websites.!

Audience

Anyone seeking to improve e-channel accessibility for anyone with a disability or wishing to test the effectiveness of their websites for highly targeted audiences. This workshop will assist in the initial stages of implementing an accessibility review for an organisation of any size.

Skills Gained

97% of large organisations claim to be aware that web accessibility is an important issue and 68% claim to take accessibility into account when designing websites. Yet, 81% of the websites tested by City University lacked evidence of any attempt to make their content accessible.Source: Disability Rights Commission.You will need to ensure that your websites are compliant, useable and easily navigable for people with disabilities. Your organisation will need to explore opportunities to widen the appeal of its websites to improve site context and content for specialist markets and users. This will all enhance the perception of your brand, practical and social values.

You will improve web design understanding and skills by integrating your communication strategy with design excellence. This will assist in a greater implementation of your brand values. This understanding are useable when producing websites yourself, or using external agencies.You will be able to produce effective websites that are accessible to your entire potential marketplace understanding how to 'action' 'best-practice' theories, whilst remaining compliant.

Course Outline

• Plan websites with accessibility in mind
• Explore opportunities to widen the appeal of your websites
• Appreciate and understand the legal implications of web accessibility
• Assess usability software
• Improve presentation of content - taking into account the potential marketplace
• Evaluate sites
• Set up and develop usability groups
• Integrate 'accessibility' into your overall marketing communications strategy

Marketing Skills: E-marketing: Ensuring your Website is DDA Compliant / 0886