Is your website legal?

Posted on | August 20, 2009 | 1 Comment



OK, so you’ve got your website, all shiny and new, off ‘that guy you know’. It’s not quite up to standards, and anyone not using IE can’t use, but you don’t mind, because you got mates’ rates. Perfectly fine, because you saved a lot instead of going to a professional agency, right?

WRONG!

That site you just got off your mate may have been cheap, but that’s because it is most likely breaking the law and could wind up costing you a hefty sum in fines.

There are two main sets of laws that all companies in the UK must comply with – the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and the UK E-Commerce Regulations.

First up, the DDA -

Essentially, this means that your site MUST be accessible and usable by all users, regardless of disability. Roughly speaking, you must comply with at least level AA of the WGAC Standards to meet this. As a few rough guidelines:

  • Do not use tables for layouts – these can confuse screenreaders and text-only browsers.
  • Do not rely solely on images or colours to convey information – e.g. if all your links are indicated purely by being a different colour, then colour-blind viewers may be unable to see them. If an image is vital to the user, include alt text to describe the image. Purely decorational images (such as a bullet point) should use an empty alt attribute.
  • Do not use ‘Click Here’ as the only text in your links – many accessibility aids pull out this text and create a separate menu of links, and users will not know their relevance.
  • Do not rely on sound to convey your message – always assume that users have their speakers off. If sound is necessary for your site (e.g. a voice which tells someone what to do next) then always accompany it with a textual equivalent.
  • Do not rely on the user having Javascript active – when testing your site, turn Javascript off. If you cannot use some features of your site then it is inaccessible.
  • Test your site in as many browsers as you can get hold of. You’d be surprised how many so-called ‘professional’ companies only test using Internet Explorer on the PC and thus miss massive bugs in their site on other browsers.

The above is by no means a definitive list, but should get you started on the right track. More information is available on the Webcredibles Site.

Secondly, the UK E-Commerce Regulations -

There are a lot of rules here, so I will just note a few important ones:

  • If your company is Registered, you must include the Registration Number and Registered Address on your website – it needn’t be on every page, but it must be easy to find. Commonly this information is placed on the ‘Contact Us’ Page of the website.
  • Likewise, if your company is VAT Registered, you must display your VAT Registration Number.
  • Your Company Number and VAT number should be present on any email communications you make, and on your letterheads (if any)
  • If you intend to sell products from your website, you must make it clear to the user whether delivery and/or VAT are included in your prices, or are extra.

Further information is available on the Out-Law Website.

Remember that much of what is discussed above involves Legal Requirements – you could receive a hefty fine if you do not comply to them. There have been a couple of notable test cases worldwide, which have resulted in large payouts – don’t let your site be the next target!

Suddenly, paying bobbins to ‘that guy you know who does websites’ sounds like less of a good business plan…

Category: Web design best practices

Tags: > >

Comments

Leave a Reply