Benefits Of An Accessible Website Part 1 Increase In Reach

Writen by Trenton Moss

The DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) states that service providers must not discriminate against disabled people. A website is regarded as a service and therefore falls under this law, and as such must be made accessible to everyone.

Some organisations are making accessibility improvements to their websites, but many are seemingly not making the accessibility adjustments. Disabled people don't access their website, they say, so why should they care?

Why you should care about disabled Internet users

The statistics on the number of users who may face difficulties due to your website's accessibility are quite startling:

* There are 8.6 million registered disabled people in the UK - 14% of the population (source: DRC)

* One in 12 men and one in 200 women have some form of colour blindness - 9% of the UK population (source: Institution of Electrical Engineers)

* Two million UK residents have a sight problem - 4% of the population (source: RNIB)

* There are 12 million people aged 60 or over - 21% of the UK population (source: UK government)

Although there is inevitably some overlap between the aforementioned groups, adding up these numbers provides a total of 48% of the UK population that could potentially face problems with your website's accessibility. That's an extraordinarily high number.

It's not just disabled users who can't access your website

Non-disabled people may also experience difficulties with your website's accessibility. Not everyone is viewing your website on the latest version of Internet Explorer, with all the plug-ins and programs that you may require them to have for optimal access.

If your website relies on images, Flash or JavaScript, and fails to provide alternatives, then your website won't be accessible to a number of web users. The following examples are a common occurrence:

* Users on slow connections regularly turn images off to enable a quicker download time. Some browsers, such as the text-only Lynx browser do not display images at all.

* Not every user has downloaded the latest Flash program that's needed to access your site. Additionally, the download time on Flash websites often takes so long that users lose patience and don't even wait to see the content. Just 25% of web users in the UK are connected to the Internet via broadband (source: National Statistics).

* JavaScript is a scripting language that can cause changes to a page, often through mouse functions, buttons, or other actions from the user. For example, pop-ups are opened using JavaScript. JavaScript is unsupported by about 5% of web users, either because they have turned it off to prevent pop-up adverts or because their browser doesn't support it (source: The Counter). Any JavaScript-driven content provided on your website won't be accessible to these users.

* PDAs, mobile phones and WebTV have limited support for large images, Flash and JavaScript. You can test your website by downloading the free WebTV viewer. You can also check how your website looks on a mobile phone with the Wapalizer. Don't underestimate the importance of this: in 2008 alone an estimated 58 million PDAs will be sold (source: eTForecast) and one third of the world's population will own a wireless device (source: ClickZ)

This article was written by Trenton Moss. He's crazy about web usability and accessibility - so crazy that he went and started his own web usability and accessibility consultancy ( Webcredible - http://www.webcredible.co.uk ) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone. They offer fantastic accessibility & CSS support packages, which you can read all about at http://www.webcredible.co.uk/support .

Do Authors Need A Website

Writen by Aneeta Sundararaj

"I am a writer, not a business-person. I don't want to have anything at all to do with business," you might think. But how mistaken you can be. As a writer of two books, I discovered the amazing opportunities available to someone who has a website.

What are these opportunities? Here are just seven of them:

1. An online presence shows that you take your work very seriously and are prepared to market to the world!

2. One of the most useful things a website can do is that it can save you time and money for postage, envelopes, paper and photocopying. In today's internet world, more and more publishers are willing to consider submissions using the internet.

3. The moment you have a website up, you have the amazing opportunity to publish your own articles. How may times I have heard people say, "I don't mind not getting paid. I just wanted the publicity!" What better way to get free publicity than to publish articles on the internet?

4. This one is particularly for those who are interested in writing for publications online – having your own website shows that you have the 'know-how', where the internet world is concerned.

5. The moment you are able to structure website properly, it gives your visitors an idea that you yourself are an organized and structured person. Your website should have, at the very least, the following pages:

• Home page

• About Us

• Testimonials

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Anti Spam Policy and Acceptable Use Policy

• Privacy Policy

• A description of the book(s) you are trying to market on the website

• If you are intending to sell the book over the net then a secure method of selling the product to your customers.

6. When having your own website, you may want to consider these tips: • Make sure that the font in all of your pages are consistent.

• Use as little photography or pictures as possible – this slows the download time

• Use a light background as dark ones are usually quite off-putting

7. As your website will become a part of your business, naturally, there will be tax incentives which you will be able to derive a benefit from.

In conclusion, treat your website like a business tool. Nurture it, look after it and market it. Your efforts will not be in vain and in time you will wonder, "how did I manage without the website?"

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Aneeta Sundararaj, a storyteller, is the creator of the bestselling program "How To Tell A Great Story". Aneeta's "R.P.I. Principle"© technique has been used by many people and offers simple, cutting-edge strategies applicable universally. She is also the author of two 'traditional' books The Banana Leaf Men and Mad Heaven: the biography of Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. M. Mahadevan. Visit http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com to learn more.

The Power Is In The Pipes How To Get Maximum Leverage From Your Website

Writen by Michael Southon

What is the most important part of your online business? Many people would say: "my website". And that's understandable – it's the most visible part of an internet business.

But the real power in your online business is email. It's the ability to reach your database of contacts at the click of a button. The efficiency of your email pipeline will determine how much money your business makes.

Your website is just a way of building your mailing list - by collecting the email addresses of your visitors.

In fact, we're not talking about one list, but several. Here are the lists that I maintain – they're all people who at one time or another have visited my websites:

- people who have bought my products - people who have signed up to receive my articles - people who have joined my affiliate program - people who have signed up for my email course - people who have joined my newsletter

So why are these lists so important?

Because most of your visitors won't buy on the first contact. Statistics show that most people will need to see your message 7 times before they make a purchase. So if you're not collecting the email addresses of your visitors, you are losing out on a lot of sales.

But there is one list in particular that is like gold. It's your list of previous customers. These people are predisposed to buying from you. In fact, some businesses make 80% of their sales from previous customers.

All well and good - but what do I do with these lists?

Here are some ideas:

- announce your latest product to your customer list

- announce your latest product to your affiliates list

- send your latest article to your articles list

- announce your latest product in your newsletter

- publish your latest article in your newsletter

- announce 'related' products to your customer list

- send your latest article to your affiliates list so they can use

it to promote your products

For each list that you manage you will need (1) an autoresponder account or an autoresponder script and (2) a way of capturing your visitor's email address.

(1) Autoresponder Accounts

An autoresponder account gives you the ability to manage a list without installing software - it's all done on a remote website. Most autoresponder accounts will give you:

- an email address for subscribing - an HTML form for subscribing - seven or more follow-up messages - a confirmation email to you every time someone joins - the ability to broadcast messages to your list - the ability to personalize your messages - database of your prospects - online stats

Here are some sites that offer autoresponder accounts:

http://www.aweber.com/

http://www.getresponse.com/

http://www.responders.com/

http://www.proautoresponder.com/

http://www.www.roibot.com/

http://www.infogeneratorpro.com/

http://www.replypro.net/

http://www.auto-responder.co.uk/

Now, autoresponder accounts cost between $17 and $20 per month. And with most autoresponder services you can only manage one list per account. So if you are managing 5 lists, that quickly adds up to a hefty monthly bill.

But there are a few services that allow you to manage multiple lists with one account. Here are some of them:

http://www.rapidreply.net/ http://www.ezmailpro.com/ http://www.autorespond-it.com/ http://www.1automationwiz.com/ http://www.royal-responder.com/

(2) Capturing Email Addresses

The most popular way to get new subscribers to your list is a 'subscribe form' that pops up when your website loads. I get 25 to 30 new subscribers a day using this technique. The HTML code for the subscribe form usually comes with your autoresponder account.

Another way to invite visitors to join your list is an 'alert box'. An alert box is a small gray dialogue box that pops up when someone visits your website. It usually says something like: "Please subscribe to my Newsletter. 5 Free eBooks when you join". It's impossible to ignore an alert box - you have to either close it or click OK to continue.

Alert boxes have two advantages over subscribe forms. Firstly, there's no form to fill in, so it's much easier for people to join your list. People who have switched from a subscribe form to an alert box report 3 to 5 times as many subscribers.

Secondly, alert boxes capture only "real" email addresses - the email address from the visitor's client browser. You end up with very few Hotmail and Yahoo addresses, which means you'll have a much more responsive list. For more information about alert boxes, visit: http://www.optinlightning.com/

So to sum up, use your website to build several optin mailing lists and you'll have a private audience of people you can market to over and over again - it's the key to running a successful online business.

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Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3
years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this
simple technique to build a successful online business. Click
here to find out more: http://ezine-writer.com/
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Top 5 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs A Website Designed

Writen by Paul Coulter

Today, in North America, almost 70% of households have access to the Internet. It has evolved to the point where the Internet has become an integral element in the way business is conducted, and is shaping the way business will be conducted in the future. Most consumers these days research a product or service on the Internet before making their purchase. So, in this day and age, it could cost you not to have a website. Listed below are 5 reasons why you should employ an experienced web designer to construct a custom website for your small business.

Credibility & Identity Building
Like it or not, your potential customers are going to judge the quality of your products and/or services based on presentation and image. Therefore, an aesthetically pleasing web site will give you and your company more credibility in the eyes of you customers or clients.

Lower Your Expenses
Why spend thousands of dollars on static traditional media such as brochures? If there was ever a change in your business, such as an expansion or additional products/services, it would require printing all new corporate brochures. A web site is dynamic and can be changed or updated in a very cost effective manner. Best of all, your clients can access this information from anywhere in the world, without the delay of snail-mail. A properly constructed web site can also reduce the time that you and your employees spend answering redundant customer questions.

Complement Your Existing Marketing Efforts
Most people think of a web site as advertising. Unfortunately, they would be wrong - A web site is a medium which complements and enhances your existing marketing efforts. Your potential customers or clients can easily gain access to information that isn't suitable to include in other traditional advertising mediums. In less than a decade, a web site will be just as common as having a listing in the Yellow Pages. What would your potential customers or clients think of your business if you didn't have a web site?

Customer Service
A web site allows potential customers or clients to get to know more about your company, increasing the personal side of doing business. Your business will be open 24hrs per day, 365 days per year, and if someone has a question concerning your product or service, an answer is only an e-mail away. Some people may feel uncomfortable on the phone or in your office / store, and, to these people, e-mail is their preferred method of communication.

Get a Jump on the Competition
A professionally designed web site will make your business appear larger than it actually is, and therefore challenge larger competitors. When it comes to getting listed in the search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.), the longer your web site has been active, the higher ranking you will receive, and therefore more traffic will be directed to your web site. It is for this reason that you can't afford delay this important decision any longer.

Paul Coulter is the owner and operator of a custom website design company located in Windsor, Ontario. You can contact him by visiting his company's website: Windsor Website Design, http://www.windsorwebdesign.ca.