Free IT review from Zebedee's IT partner Kinitron More >>

  Wow your customers this Christmas with an E-Card More >>

  25% discount to the Everywoman National Conference More >>

  Accessibility in a reasonably small nutshell…More >>

Free IT review from Zebedee's IT partner Kinitron

Zebedee would like to introduce you to our new IT partners, Kinitron. Xeno and his team, as well as being very nice people, offer very reasonably priced IT services to small business. Kinitron have agreed to offer Zebedee customers a Free ½ day IT review with absolutely no obligation to take things further.

So if you've been meaning to upgrade your network, want to know if you could be saving money on telephony or want an expert assessment of your security provision why not give them a whirl! Call Xeno on 08700 271 336 or send him an email at xeno@kinitron.co.uk.

Wow your customers this Christmas with an E-Card

Why not catch your customer's attention with an innovative E-card? We can brand an existing E-card design or we can create a bespoke E-card depending upon your budget. Static or flash…with or without snowmen!

Check out this sample E-card and then jingle our bell for a quote…

Get a 25% discount on tickets to the fantastic Everywoman National Conference

Zebedee is delighted that our client, Everywoman, have agreed to offer you all a 25% discount on tickets to their fantastic Everywoman Conference in London on November the 17th 2004.

This is a unique opportunity to network with hundreds of business women, learn from the country's most successful entrepreneurs and increase your business skills through a variety of break out training sessions. Plus Award winning BBC newscaster, Fiona Bruce will be the moderator for a panel discussion entitled "Think Big, Act Bold, Enjoy Success" which promises to be a real highlight.

This is an entire day for you to focus on yourself and your personal and business development needs and at £75 +VAT it's definitely this seasons' "must have" for any self respecting business woman! For more details on the day's itinerary and to book your ticket either call Everywoman on 0870 746 1800 or book on line at www.everywoman.co.uk - be sure to quote discount code: ZEBEDEE. [Note that when you enter the discount code the revised price will be calculated.]

Florence and Claire will be attending so let them know if you'd like to meet up!

Accessibility in a reasonably small nutshell

What is it? The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 (the DDA) makes it unlawful to provide a service that is not accessible to everybody. It is irrelevant whether the service is provided with or without payment. The legislation is clearly applicable to information and services supplied via the Internet. Web Accessibility means making the web useable by everyone whatever their ability or disability.

Why should my site comply? The implications for your company of having a website that is accessible to disabled visitors is not just that you are conforming with the law, you will also be building a reputation as a company that cares, and delivering your message to a significantly wider audience. Plus there are other benefits to having a site that is accessible:

>> increase sales (if you have something to sell)
>> increase audience reach
>> improve search engine listings
>> reduce loads on your server
>> reduce load on server bandwidth
>> reduce site maintenance costs

More recently the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) has started threatening inaccessible website owners with legal action if they do not improve accessibility. This is a major watershed for the web, and at last, disabled people have their basic rights acknowledged on line.

How is accessibility achieved?

If only there were a set of simple rules to follow then website owners and their designers would have a simple task to make their websites accessible. Unfortunately though, there are no absolute guidelines. However, the industry has a widely acknowledged standards setting body, the W3C. This organisation is responsible for the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) which in May 1999 launched the first comprehensive set of web accessibility guidelines on which popular accessibility tools such as 'Bobby' base their judgements.

The WAI accessibility guidelines set out three priority levels to which a website should aspire. The first of these, level 'A', is essential for basic accessibility and a failure to implement these guidelines means potential users will be prevented from meaningful interaction and run the risk of falling foul of the DDA.

The second level, 'Double-A', offers solutions to further stumbling blocks and the third level, 'Triple-A' demonstrates a real commitment to accessibility excellence.

Many observers believe that 'Triple-A' compliance is either unachievable, or compromises other requirements of a corporate web presence such as brand impact and design. Therefore it is generally agreed that a 'Double-A' website that incorporates a managed additional set of facilities is likely to achieve the best balance of design and accessibility although we would always consider each client's situation on a case by case basis.

What should I do next? If you would like to discuss how you might make your site accessible why not give us a ring and we'll be happy to take a look at your site and come up with a suitable plan. Call either Claire or Florence on 0208 994 1234.

Want to swot up some more? Here are some useful sites:

Royal National Institute of the Blind

W3C article titled "Auxiliary Benefits of Accessible Web Design"

Bobby website accessibility testing tool

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