Nick Stone is one of three Virginia members of an international guild of accessible Web designers and developers, aptly named the Guild Of Accessible Web Designers or GAWDS. At Charlottesville SEO Web Development, Web accessibility is our passion. We provide Web accessibility consulting services and accessible Web coding throughout the United States but our client base is primarily the public and private sectors in Central and Northern Virginia, where we serve Virginia state agencies, commercial businesses and not-for-profit organizations.
The accessible coding we provide for Virginia municipal government websites complies not only with Section 508 Guidelines and State of Virginia requirements, but also meets or exceeds Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA. All Web pages we develop pass automated testing and human review. Web development projects we provide to state and federal agencies undergo an additional level of human testing by members of the disabled community. Specifically, each completed Web page is reviewed by JAWS users to ensure all content is accessible to blind and visually impaired visitors.
Charlottesville SEO Web Development is honored to have been selected in March, 2011, to provide accessible Web design and Web development services, in conjunction with Web accessibility consulting, to the Virginia Industries for the Blind. This state agency sought to redesign and develop a website that would set a new standard of handicap accessibility for state agency websites. In addition to exceeding published accessibility guidelines, Virginia Industries for the Blind General Manager, James Meehan, wanted his agency’s new website to be visually appealing enough to serve as an effective marketing vehicle for the agency’s extensive selection of retail office supplies, manufactured goods and services. He contracted Charlottesville SEO Web Development to raise the bar. We gladly accepted the challenge!
Business Liability & Web Accessibility
Commercial businesses can be found liable for failure to provide accessible Web content to handicapped visitors. A large class action law suit was brought against Target Corporation recently for failing to make their web site accessible to handicapped customers. Businesses are advised to seek legal counsel regarding potential liability.
In addition to reducing or eliminating legal liability, businesses also benefit financially by ensuring their websites are handicap accessible. The Census Bureau estimates nearly 1 out of 5 non-institutionalized U.S. citizens is disabled. Many of these potential customers suffer from disabilities that can affect their ability to access information on the Internet. Why limit access to your company’s services and products? By ensuring a company site meets the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), businesses can extend their online market reach dramatically.
Not-For-Profit Organizations – Accessibility Considerations
Not-for-profit organizations may not have the same legal exposure that businesses have, but again it is prudent to consult legal counsel.
Nonprofit organizations often have other incentives to make their websites handicap accessible, including compassionate motives, the ability to help more people and the leverage to reach more potential donors.
Virginia Government Sites – Web Accessibility Services
By law, The Commonwealth of Virginia website system must be accessible to handicapped visitors. County and other municipal sites must answer to the Justice Department for failure to comply with federal guidelines including Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans With Disabilities (ADA) guidelines for Web accessibility.
Central And Northern Virginia Web Accessibility Services
Charlottesville SEO Web Development is expanding to provide Web accessibility services to Northern Virginia and Central Virginia businesses, organizations and agencies. Please contact Nick Stone in Charlottesville or Alexandria, VA for more information.