E-Access Bulletin Live

The UK government Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published a set of 10 principles for inclusive web design to highlight the importance of building websites that can be used by as wide a range of people as possible and drive forward e-accessibility.

Written as seven principles by Sandi Wassmer for web design company Copious – of which she is managing director – the ‘Ten Principles of Inclusive Web Design’ ( which can be viewed on the DCMS site – bit.ly/mfx9ax – or the Copious site:  bit.ly/lzsnOe ) were originally used to encompass and sit alongside existing web-based guidelines and best practice for building accessible and user-centred websites. Wassmer then co-wrote the government’s E-Accessibility Action Plan (available as a PDF here:  bit.ly/kEhUsx ) and included the seven principles in the appendices.

She built the seven principles into ten for a presentation on inclusive design ( slidesha.re/jzfxHP ) and an article for web design magazine .net ( bit.ly/jJqfc0 ), before the DCMS asked to publish the principles on their website.

The ‘Ten Principles’ are now broken down into single keywords (for example: equitable; flexible; straightforward; perceptible), each followed by a brief explanatory statement to give guidance on how the term relates to inclusive website design.

Speaking to E-Access Bulletin, Wassmer said: “The 10 principles of inclusive web design are not theoretical, but a practical framework for everyone involved in building great web experiences. Having the support of [DCMS minister] Ed Vaizey will encourage their adoption – from education to industry – and that is very exciting indeed.”

This entry was posted on Friday, May 27th, 2011 at 5:48 pm and is filed under News, Web accessibility. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.