This is an old draft. The published version of this document is at www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/.
Appendix E: Factors Affecting Cost of Implementation
This is an old draft. The published version of this document is at www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/.
Note: This document is an initial draft
[see change log in progress] and should not be referenced
or quoted under any circumstances. This document is under development by
the Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG), and
will be offered to other W3C groups and the public for review.
Introduction
This appendix to "Customizing a Business Plan for Web Accessibility" outlines
cost/benefit factors relevant to implementing accessibility in Web sites.
Some factors listed here represent an initial expense but a long-term savings.
Various factors can affect the cost of making Web sites accessible. These
factors may have different impacts on new or existing Web sites, and on simple
or complex sites:
-
For new sites that are relatively simple in design, ensuring accessibility
of the site may add very little to the cost.
-
For new sites that are more complex in design, accessibility again may add
relatively little to the cost compared to the overall cost of development,
and may create some longer-term savings in site maintenance and updating.
-
Existing Web sites using valid W3C technologies may require relatively little
expense to retrofit.
-
Existing Web sites that use invalid markup or proprietary technologies may
require more extensive retrofitting and therefore may incur more expense;
however, there may be ways to mitigate the cost, for instance, by prioritizing
major accessibility barriers first, and less substantial barriers at the
same time as a periodic Web site clean-up or redesign.
Factors potentially affecting cost and/or benefit:
Not all cost/benefit factors will apply to every situation; nor can we predict
the actual amounts of expenses or savings in a given situation. Therefore
factors listed here are presented as questions for consideration.
Initial investment
-
Assessment of existing Web site accessibility:
-
initial assessment of the organization's Web sites (by existing personnel,
or by external consultants?)
-
Training:
-
awareness briefings for managers (internal trainers or external consultants?)
-
technical training (internal/external?)
-
Technical assistance:
-
to support implementation of accessibility in complex Web sites
(internal/external?)
-
Software, assistive technologies:
-
Developer time:
-
any additional development time for accessibility content (e.g. captions,
descriptions)
-
time needed to retrofit a site with substantial accessibility problems and/or
invalid markup?
-
Quality assurance and testing:
-
development of testing protocol (internal/external?)
-
time for testing and follow-up?
-
Contingency and miscellaneous:
-
travel costs for specialists?
-
provision for unexpected overspending?
Impact on Web site development process
-
Development of more consistent site appearance and use of technologies
-
May prompt a move towards template-based pages on site, which involves an
initial investment, but subsequently reduced development time and maintenance
costs, as well as greater usability due to consistency of design across the
site.
-
New architecture for Web site
-
An assessment of Web site accessibility in some cases may prompt an
organizational decision to upgrade the technologies used across the site,
for instance to move to more XML-based Web site that will provide a stronger
foundation for Web-based services. This would involve an initial investment,
though not solely due to accessibility considerations. The investment may
eventually provide a return by making the Web site much more efficient, and
increase portability of the site to new Web devices and technologies.
-
Development of accessibility testing procedures and/or tools
-
There are many freely available accessibility checking utilities; however
sometimes an organization develops its own utilities. These can involve an
initial investment but a return on investment later if sold or licensed
externally.
-
Changes in Web site update procedures
-
If accessibility improvements are incorporated into an organization's standard
periodic Web site updates, it may increase the time needed for the initial
series of updates. However, over time, use of accessibility solutions such
as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is likely to reduce the time needed to update
the appearance of Web sites since this can be managed through externally
linked style sheets.
-
Trained corps of developers
-
Initial training of an organization's own Web developers is an expense. However
their accessibility expertise may marketable as an external service.
Impact on Web site functioning
-
Changed speed of file transfer
-
Use of accessibility solutions such as CSS may reduce increase speed of file
transfer thereby reducing server load.
-
Incorporation of certain kinds accessibility information such as alternative
formats for multimedia may slightly increase file size.
-
Increased ability to index or search for information
-
Text captions for audio files are much more easily indexed and searched than
the audio files themselves.
-
Incorporation of information about accessibility of Web pages can potentially
increase their rank in some search engines.
-
Inconsistency in user agent support for accessibility solutions
-
Variations in browser and multimedia support for technologies such as CSS
may require additional testing of Web sites across a variety of platforms.
-
Increased suitability for multilingual translations:
-
Consistency of language use and appropriate markup make sites easier to
translate.
Impact on organizational positioning and image:
-
Increase in customer base:
-
An accessible Web site will be more usable and attractive to people with
disabilities and/or aging-related conditions affecting access to information
technologies, who may constitute up to 10% of the potential market for a
site.
-
An accessible Web site will be more usable by users of newer Web devices
such as Web-enabled mobile phones and personal digital assistants (hand-held
personal organizers with Web access).
-
An accessible site may have a higher degree of usability for all users.
-
Reduced liability
-
Where there are laws or regulations requiring accessibility of Web sites,
ensuring that sites are accessible is a way of reducing legal exposure, thereby
reducing expenses for attorneys.
-
Improvement in organizational image:
-
Having a public commitment to accessibility enhances an organization's public
image. Being known for inaccessibility is generally detrimental to organizational
image.
-
Savings in cost of service delivery:
-
For organizations that have previously provided substantial materials in
hard-copy (large print, embossed braille, disk) alternative formats, an
accessible Web site can reduce the cost of alternative format materials
production and distribution.
Last updated 11 May 2001 by Judy Brewer
(jbrewer@w3.org). Contributions from
Jean-Marie D'Amour, William Loughborough, Phill Jenkins, Mark Urban, Robert
Neff, and members of the Education and Outreach Working Group.
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