What Can You Do If Your Business Does Not Have The Finances To Make Your Web Site Accessible?

There are many situations when companies are willing to make their web sites accessible, but they do not have the finances. Of course, the answer is obvious, an accessible web site will extend your market and you will have more finances. But what happens if this is still out of the reach of a small business? I will give you a couple of ideas on how you can improve your site's accessibility without finances.

As a first step, understand why you are making your web site accessible. You might have heard it from me before that it is the right thing to do. But beyond this cliche sounding serious explanation, the reason is to make it available for people with disabilities to obtain all information you provide. So, what you can start with is to understand how people with disabilities use the computer. I have written a series articles about it, read more here about it. This is not a big time investment, it is a good start, and if you did not have a personal experience to work with people with disabilities, you will learn many new and interesting things.

In my experience, one of the biggest obstacles of accessibility is that developers don't understand their target audience. When you start grasping the idea that people can use all kinds of different technologies to compensate for their disabilities, next time you design a site with this in mind, you will definitely catch issues which could potentially be an accessibility problem.

To enhance your experience, there are different organizations for people with disabilities. Their purpose is not only to provide support, but also to educate. If you call any of them that you would like to look at some of the technologies they are using, they will certainly give you an introduction or will get you in touch with somebody who can give you a tour. And it is definitely just as amazing and eye-opening as a visit to a museum.

When it comes to the actual site development, you will be able to find many materials online to help you with coding. There articles discussing different aspects of web design, or entire books devoted to getting you started on making web sites accessible.

Also, there are forums and mailing lists which you can join and meet fellow developers and designers who are trying to achieve the same. On these forums, you will always find a bunch of accessibility experts who are willing to answer any questions you may have.

If you do all of the above, it does not mean that you will automatically become an accessibility expert, especially not one with years of experience who always has an answer for any question. But it will definitely help you to avoid the most common mistakes, and make you sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities.

How Even Grounds helps you

At Even Grounds we would also help companies who do not necessarily have the finances to hire an accessibility consultant. You can find a blog which provides interesting and educational posts in the area of accessibility, and a series of articles which help businesses to learn more about accessibility in order to make decisions for their companies.

In addition, I publish an accessibility newsletter, which provides you with simple tips on making technology more accessible in your daily life.

Besides the online materials, Even Grounds provides an initial free consultation. Sometimes this is all you need to get you started.

So, next time, when you feel that all you need is finances, do not hesitate to contact us