81% of FTSE 100 Websites are Inaccessible, claims Study

81% of FTSE 100 company websites do not comply with the World Web Consortium's (W3C) guidance on accessibility for disabled users, according to a new study.

Research conducted by LB Icon (UK) in September 2004 indicates that 57% of FTSE 100 companies fail to comply with three or more W3C regulations on accessibility. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) calls upon companies to make reasonable adjustments to the services they deliver, to prevent disabled customers from encountering difficulty, points out the company.

LB Icon (UK) conducted similar research in 2001. This survey identified that 95% of FTSE 100 organisations were inaccessible to disabled users. Three years on and the company says there is only a 14% improvement on that level.

In the finance and banking sectors, 80% of FTSE 100 websites do not provide full accessibility. In retail, the figure stands at 83%, with leading companies failing to provide equal access. In the leisure space almost 100% of FTSE 100 organisations failed to provide equal access.

Commenting on the findings of the survey, Richard Evans, head of design and information architecture at LB Icon (UK), said: 'I find these figures disturbing as many of them are the very companies that should be leading the way.'

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