Accessibility guidelines 'vital for e-government'

Accessibility is a vital concern for public bodies wishing to create websites, one government official has claimed.

John Ansari, the marketing manager for South Yorkshire Public Transport Executive, has commented as the organisation has made a number of accessibility improvements to its website, reports PublicTechnology.net.

Sites offered by public facing bodies should offer the highest possible level of interaction for disabled individuals, according to the official.

Mr Ansari remarked that improvements were carried out "to create a customer focused site and to ensure that the site was as accessible as possible for those with disabilities".

"We feel strongly that it's important for local authorities to review and update existing sites to meet accessibility guidelines."

Since the upgrades, the site's creators hope that it will attract around 8,000 visitors per month by March 2007.

The new site has designed to be compliant with AA compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

By Nomensa