Accessibility | Why bother? | Points to remember
A web page is not like a printed page. Rather it consists of a document (your text and images) together with a set of instructions which describe what each piece of the document is (a paragraph of text, a heading, an image, a form, a list and so on), and suggest how the page should be displayed. Some browsers will not understand all these suggestions. Fortunately, they just tend to ignore what they don't understand.
This means that you cannot in principle have total control over how your web page appears. It needs to be designed to work in all browsing situations, not just in the version demonstrated to you on your desktop.
The page may also include "scripts" which are small programs that run on the visitors computer and can enable page content to be updated in response to a visitor's actions. However, these scripts often will not work with all browsers, and some browsers do not have the ability to run scripts at all. So while they can add visual appeal and interactivity for some visitors, your site must not depend solely on them for its function. If you rely on scripts for your site to work, then for some of your customers your site won't work at all - and they'll go elsewhere.
The Disability Discrimination Act (1995) makes it against the law to offer service on different terms or of a lower standard to anyone on the basis of their disability. The guidelines make it clear this includes services delivered via a web site. An individual who can't use a service because it isn't accessible to them can now sue the service provider. So if your site doesn't work for everyone, you could be running the risk of legal action.
And of course it's just common sense to make your site as widely accessible as possible.
Some points to bear in mind when thinking about your web site:
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