Accessible Web Site Design and Development

Since their successful application to GAWDS (Guild of Accessible Web Designers) in May 2004, Bournemouth based Southbourne Internet (SONET) showcase managed accessible web site design and development, offering website management programs and accessibility through client-managed web systems with maximised market penetration. Vincent Marcello, Director of New Media and Communications, and Alan Hill, Director of Web Development formed Southbourne Internet (source). People in the UK with disabilities have an annual spending power of 50 billion (source ). There are two million blind and partially-sighted people in the UK (source ). And these groups will vote with the back button and leave a poorly designed inaccessible site, often never to return. It is evident those businesses not intent upon the path of accessible web development will forfeit considerable and ever-increasing revenue as global Internet penetration escalates, permeates homes and leverages the wealth of online purchasers. The benefits of standards-compliant development are further realised in website visibility with regard to search engine optimisation (SEO) since the resultant markup - the code under the bonnet - is invariably as much as 60 percent leaner, meaning the copy, the surfer-visible content, is more easily accessed and digested by search spiders which gather web content for the likes of Google, Yahoo!, MSN and other search engines. With 47 percent of shoppers using search engines to locate products online, Southbourne Internet recognise it is imperative the development and update processes embrace SEO as integral to website SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) prominence and successful marketing. Along with Internet marketing, PR and promotion feature heavily in Marcello's skills portfolio, as do project authoring and directing. He has received Rock-America's Best Video award for the remix of Yello's The Race. His other achievements include authoring The Kingdom Concept', a portal for Saudi Arabia encompassing foreign ministry and embassy websites incorporating virtual tours of Saudi Arabia and online education that Prince Turki Al Faisal, Ambassador and Minister to the United Kingdom, requested Marcello present at the Royal Saudi Arabia embassy, and now a project under consideration in Riyadh. Southbourne Internet endorse and employ the Government Standards for Technical Architecture and the e-Government Interoperability Framework which sets out the policies and specifications for achieving interoperability and seamless information flow and which sits well with their philosophy of enabling business through technology. Murdok | Breaking eBusiness News Your source for investigative ebusiness reporting and breaking news.