•Users on slow connections regularly turn images off to enable a quicker download time. Some browsers, such as text-only Lynx browser do not display images at all. •Not every user has downloaded latest Flash program that is needed to display your site. Additionally, download time on Flash websites often takes so long that users lose patience and don't even wait to see content. Just 17% of web users in UK are connected to Internet via broadband (www.liquidzope.com/abc/2/4currentusage/currentstatebbd/view). •JavaScript is a scripting language that can cause changes to a page, often through mouse functions, buttons, or other actions from user. For example, pop-ups are opened using JavaScript. JavaScript is unsupported by approximately four percent of web users (http://www.thecounter.com/stats/2004/February/javas.php), either because they have turned it off to prevent pop-up adverts or because their browser does not support it. •WebTV, mobile phones, and PDAs have limited support for large images, Flash and JavaScript. You can test your website on WebTV by downloading free viewer at http://developer.msntv.com/TOOLS/webtvvwr.asp. You can also look at how your website will look on a mobile phone with Wapalizer, a free program available at http://www.gelon.net.

“One of biggest myths about law,” continues Mr. Moss, “is that new laws will be implemented in October of this year, when final part of Act comes into force.” This final piece of legislation actually refers to service providers having to consider making permanent physical adjustments to their premises and is not related to Internet in any way. (http://www.disability.gov.uk/dda/#part3).

The law about accessible websites came into force on 1st October 1999 (http://www.drc.org.uk/open4all/law/code.asp) and Code of Practice for this section of Act was published on 27th May 2002 (http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2002/20020720.htm). This means that majority of websites are already in breach of law.

So, can you be sued if your website fails to meet required standards? “Probably,” says Mr. Moss. The RNIB claim that they have considered taking up a number of cases against organisations with regard to their websites. When they raised accessibility issues of website, companies have typically made necessary changes, rather than facing prospect of legal action.

The DRC has launched a formal investigation into 1000 websites and expect to publish their findings some time this year. (http://www.drc-gb.org/annualreview/foreword/index.asp#internet). If your website is on this list then you will have to start thinking about making it accessible to all web users in very near future.

So what does your website need to do to comply to standards? It is widely believed that if, or perhaps more appropriately when, a case makes it to court that W3C accessibility guidelines will be used to assess a website’s accessibility and ultimately decide outcome of case. The W3C is Internet governing body and its web accessibility guidelines can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/full-checklist.html. To further complicate matters, W3C offers three different levels of compliance; it will most likely be Priority 2 guidelines, (which must be satisfied according to W3C) that will probably need to be adhered to.