PAS78 – free web site accessibility guide
We would like to let you know that the “PAS 78: a guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites” can be downloaded free from the Disability Rights Commission.
It offers guidance on how to develop a website which is user-friendly for disabled people.
“The ‘PAS 78: A guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites’ (published March 2006) is for those responsible for commissioning or maintaining public-facing websites and web-based services. It was developed by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and sponsored by the DRC.”
These guidelines will not tell you how to make an accessible web site, however PAS 78 covers areas such as:
- How disabled people use websites
- Defining the accessibility policy for the website
- Web technologies
- Accessibility testing and maintenance
- Contracting web design and accessibility auditing services.
It gives recommendations for:
- The management of the process of, and guidance on, upholding existing W3C guidelines and specifications
- Involving disabled people in the development process and using the current software-based compliance testing tools that can assist with this.
It is applicable to all public and private organizations that wish to observe good practice under the existing voluntary guidelines and the relevant legislation on this subject and is intended for use by those responsible for commissioning public-facing websites and web-based services.
For more reading on PAS 78 and WCAG2.0 check out the @media2006 Notes: The New Accessibility Guidelines: WCAG 2.0 over at Muffin Research
