Financial reasons.

This focuses on those users with either disabilities, those with digital divide issues, the older population, people with low literacy, those with low bandwidth, older internet technologies as well as new or infrequent internet users.

Disabilities

As previously stated, in the 2003 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Survey of Disability, Ageing and Careers, stated that there were one in five people in Australia (3,958,300 or 20.0%) had a reported disability. In this document it defined disability as Disability was defined as any limitation, restriction or impairment, which has lasted, or likely to last, for at least six months and restricts everyday activities.

This document also indicated that these figures where consistent with those found in the 1998 survey (1998 - 20.1% as compared to 2003 - 20.0%). This is also comparable to those statistics found in the US.

The WebAIM The Guide to Web Accessibility states Though estimates vary, most studies find that about one fifth (20%) of the population has some kind of disability. Not all of these people have disabilities that make it difficult for them to access the Internet. For example, a person whose legs are paralyzed can still navigate a Web site without any disability-related difficulty. Still, if only half-or even a quarter-of these individuals have disabilities that affect their ability to access the Internet, this is a significant portion of the population.

For this reason, businesses, corporations and organizations, especially those involved in international markets, should not ignore this section of the population when considering their web development. Again in the WebAIM training documentation - The Guide to Web Accessibility - Introduction to Web Accessibility, it states Businesses would be unwise to purposely exclude 20, 10 or even 5 percent of their potential customers from their Web sites. Schools, universities, and government entities would be not only unwise, but, in many countries, they would also be breaking the law if they did so. To check Australian Legislation, select this option, which will open a new page.

The Older Population

As we grow older we all experience changes to our vision, hearing, dexterity and our memories. Some of the things that need to be consider when developing your web site include:-

• sufficient contrast between the foreground and background colours,
• test size defined using relative units rather than absolute units to allow the text font size to be increased by the users,
• that text and images do not blink or flash at speeds with could cause epilepsy and
• for those with dexterity issues using a mouse, provide short cut keys to allow them to use the keyboard in lieu of a mouse.

The Digital Divide Issues

This refers to the economic and social barriers to computer use, for those users without disabilities. Many people with disabilities are also affected by the same economic and social factors, including very low rates of employment and as a result, low income. These factors along with the physical environment and computer technologies, can result in:-

• lack of accessible mainstream web technologies - browsers etc.,
• lack of effective up to date assistive technoogies
• limited access to either high bandwidth or regular web access
• limited access to a social environment that encourages web use.