If you have a business in Ontario, Canada, you may have heard of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, or AODA.  If you haven’t, now would be a good time to do some research on the terms that are now affecting all businesses in the private sector. Refusal to comply with the Customer Service Standards can result in fines of up to $100,000 per day for the corporation.

This act was created in 2005 with the goal of removing barriers for activities and opportunities for disabled individuals by 2025. The Ontario Government has split AODA compliance into different sets of mandatory standards, all being implemented and enforced by the government in phases. They are:

1. Customer Service Standard

2. Integrated Accessibility Regulation

• Information and Communications
• Employment
• Transportation

3. Built Environment

Almost seven years after introducing the act, it is now time for businesses to take action and make their businesses accessible to all Ontarians. The deadline for businesses in the private sector to be compliant was January 1, 2012. Public sector organizations that provide goods and services to the public had to be compliant by January 1, 2010.

In short, if your organization has at least one employee with a phone on their desk whose role involves interaction with others who do not work for your company, your business must comply. While there are other sections of the AODA addressing elements such as accessibility within your actual office space, the focus of this article is on how these laws affect your website. The Web Content and Accessibility Guideline (or WCAG) outlines the ways in which your website must comply.

Most custom-built websites should be flexible and scalable enough to support the necessary updates to be compliant with AODA. How we all access information is a huge part of our daily lives, especially with the growing internet community. Since this Act aims to provide people with disabilities the same ease of usability as everyone else, it is likely that your website could need some updating in order to be compliant.  Below, I have outlined the WCAG elements that your website must have in order to comply with AODA.

1.1    Text Alternatives
Providing your website’s visitors with text alternatives for non-text content can facilitate the user experience for those with disabilities. Options can include larger print, symbols, simpler language, braille or audio descriptions.

1.2    Time-based Media
Providing alternatives for time-based media ensures that anyone who wants to access all of the information on your site has the means to do so. This can include providing audio-only versions of video content, and text versions of audio content. This allows users with a variety of visual or auditory disabilities to be able to fully access the content of your site in its entirety.

1.3    Adaptable
Depending on the age and quality of your current website, this could be a very easy update. Making your content adaptable enables it to be presented in different ways, such as with a simpler layout, while still providing the same information and structure.

1.4    Distinguishable
The style and design of your website speaks volumes to your target market, attitudes, preferences and competitive advantages. While some fonts and colours could appear more fashionable, having easy-to-read fonts, a good colour contrast between your text and background, and a text size of at least 14 points is part of this component of WCAG. This also involves making your links and controls highly visible when they receive keyboard or mouse focus.

2.1  Keyboard Accessible
Having a website that is entirely keyboard accessible is very useful to individuals with motor skills disabilities. Allowing your users to navigate through your website without using a mouse facilitates the user of your website as users can avoid maneuvering a small mouse point and click on small areas to navigate your website.

2.2  Enough Time
Having content that is set to rotate or change automatically after a certain period of time provides a flashy look for your website, but can be problematic to those with dyslexia or other reading disabilities. Giving users the ability to turn off or adjust the time on this feature, or warn the user that the content will change unless they perform a simple action (I.e., press the Enter key) that extends their time.

2.3  Seizures
Avoiding design or functionality elements that project in any way that is known to cause seizures ensures your visitors will be safe while browsing your site. You can check any flashing elements on your site to make sure that no component flashes more than three times per second, minimizing the size of your flashing areas, and using online tools to ensure that any elements do not exceed either the general flash or red flash threshold.

2.4  Navigable
An intuitively structured website will involve strategic decisions designed to help your users navigate, find content, and determine where they are on your site. Making your links visually distinct, allowing users to navigate to different sections of a web page and limiting the number of links per page are good ways to follow this guideline.

3.1  Readable
Content that is readable and understandable is not just a way of facilitating those with disabilities; it ensures that anyone who visits your site can comprehend your product, service, or message. This relates to making sure your text is distinguishable: avoid chunks of italicized text, avoid similarly coloured background and text, using justifications only when necessary, etc.  Other aspects of this section include using clear and simple language, avoiding foreign or unusual words, and providing sign language versions of basic information on your site, such as how to contact the Webmaster.

3.2  Predictable
Having a consistent style provides a certain amount of cohesion to your site and overall design. This guideline requires that your web pages operate and appear in predictable ways. This includes keeping your navigation in a consistent location and notifying your users if clicking on links will open new windows or direct them away from their current location on the site.

3.3  Input Assistance
A website that requests its users to fill out a form and then rejecting the form without providing any explanation is a very frustrating experience from a usability perspective. This guideline involves helping users avoid and correct mistakes. If a form was rejected because the user did not fill out a mandatory field, for example, provide a notice that an error was identified and explain to the user how to correct this error. Make sure any instructions on your site are provided in a clear and concise way. Also make sure that you have a ‘Help’ link on each page where a user inputs their information.

4.1  Compatible
This last portion of the WCAG involves making sure that your website is highly compatible with various gadgets, including assistive technology gadgets. Making sure the code of your website is up to coding standards, as outlined in the W3C, will ensure that your website’s content can be captured and understood with the use of screen readers and other assistive technology softwares and tools.

These are high-level overviews of the various areas in which your website must comply in order to be accessible for all Ontarians. The WCAG offers much more detailed information on a technical level for implementing these changes, as well as exceptions or alternatives.

Having a website that is compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act is not just an option for businesses in Ontario; it is mandatory. Refusal to comply with the Customer Service Standards can result in fines of $50,000 per day for Directors and Officers and fines of up to $100,000 per day for the corporation. This is not just about punitive action, however; with approximately one in seven Ontarians living with a disability, this is about opening your business up to service anyone that falls within your target market. Compiling with these Customer Service Standards reflects positively upon your business, within your community and among your employees.

For many companies, their website is typically the first opportunity to they have to meet their prospective audience.  If that impression is not compelling, or there is a poor experience trying to find relevant information on the website, people simply hit the back button to their search results and select the next company on the list.  The resulting effect is a lost opportunity to engage the prospect and close a sale.

Building a website, in terms of the technical skill to code it, may not be terribly difficult.  Where a lot of expertise is required in that process is the architect’s skill to create the blueprints.  The architect listened to the client’s needs, and based on design and construction principles, creates the road map for the builders to follow in the form of the blue prints.

Now assume the same example above but remove the architect.  Assume you went directly to the contractor with the same request.  The contractor, while having all of the required knowledge to build the house, does not have the same level of design knowledge and expertise an architect would in terms of creating the best living space.
Let’s translate that example to the web industry.  There are few barriers to enter or exit this industry so anyone can throw a sign over their door and start building websites.  With that being said, how does one pick the right vendor beyond price?

Here are some things to consider:

1. Websites are tools for business; often time’s clients lose sight of that.  A well thought out website should guide the user through the content relevant to them in a structured manner, resulting in the user taking an action.   Having a strategic plan that aligns with your business goals and objectives is important.
2. Education.  Many of the prospects we deal with have little experience in managing a website project which is both creative and technical.   This can leave prospects unsure of which questions to ask or worse, they assume the web developer will be able to figure it out themselves.  A reputable web development company will work with the prospect to understand the prospect’s business goals, then make strategic recommendations designed to achieve those goals.
3. Marketing focused approach.  Think again of a website being a tool for business.  If the website is not aligned with the company’s business goals and objectives, it fails.  When working with a vendor, you should ensure they are committed to being a partner in your success.  They should ask the right questions about the prospect’s business in order to make strategic recommendations, rather than simply asking the client what they want on their website.
4. How large is the team?  Where a small shop might be inexpensive, you are asking that developer to wear many hats such as designer, project manager, quality assurance, marketing, etc.  At some point the quality of their skills is diluted as they may be an expert in some of the areas, but not all.  Conversely, with a large team, we can assign a team of experts to complete specific tasks related to their expertise.  Additionally, working with a large team benefits the entire team due to their combined expertise, making it a far superior experience.
5. How does one wade through the sales pitches and the quotes to determine if they are selecting the right vendor?

Here are some items a prospect should review with a prospective vendor:

1. Is the website coding built to an industry accepted standard such as W3C, ecommerce, security standards, etc.?  Failure to build a website to standard can impact how the website displays on some browsers, how the search engines index the website, and most importantly, the visitor’s experience.
2. Are all the vendors quoting based on the same features and functions? Are there any assumptions being made?
3. Do you own or have access to the website code when completed or are you paying a licence fee for usage?  This will often be related to if the website is templated or custom built.
4. Does the vendor outsource any of the projects or work with freelancers?  While outsourcing the effort can seem like a cost savings initially, it brings up a host of potential problems, such as lack of control over the project’s direction, quality, standards and ultimate delivery.
5. Can you visit their offices?.  Check them out, are they what they present themselves to be.
6. Do they have reliable references?  It is very important to check references to confirm you are dealing with a reputable vendor.
7. Did the vendor strategically discuss your project with you in terms of understanding and achieving your business goals?
8. How long has the company been in business for, how large in their team?  Will the company be available after the website is completed?

In closing, it is important to take the appropriate time to carefully evaluate a vendor to ensure they are the right partner for you and your business.   You are investing in them to make your business a success.   If you have selected the right partner who can help to grow your business, any cost differential will very soon become secondary.

Although sellers’ information is controlled by US based eBay Inc. and stored on a US server, the Federal Court of Canada ruled that eBay is nevertheless required to provide this information.

The Globe and Mail reports that Canadians spent about $5 billion online each year, a quarter of which represent eBay’s total sales. However, Statistics Canada reports $39.2 billion CAD spent online in 2005, that’s 38.4% up from 2004.

According to eBay, the site was visited by approximately 11 million Canadians this past August.

The issue of double taxation is sure to become a cumbersome topic, since many sellers auction used goods. Meanwhile companies that sell through eBay may now need to re-evaluate their profit margins.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has sent many news releases on the issue. If you receive a renewal notice, you should contact your current registrar to confirm that your domain name needs renewing.

If you decide to renew your domain(s) by sending a response to one of these renewal notices, note the following:

1. You will likely pay too much for your renewal. Renewal rates that we’ve seen from these mailings are expensive, typically between $25 and $30 US per domain/year. Some will take your payment and not even transfer your domain.
2. You could lose the services being provided by your current registrar. Some registration services providers also provide DNS, email forwarding, hosting, or other services with their domain registrations.
3. You could lose your customer service. Once your domain is transferred to another registrar, your current provider will not be able to provide customer support for your domain.

This is a sample letter you should ignore.

To protect your contact information, your domain registrar should provide WHOIS Privacy service which allows you to retain your domain name without having to expose your personal information to the public.

This is typically how it works:

• Your domain registration information, including the Administrative, Billing, and Technical contacts, are masked with generic data within public WHOIS databases. This way you retain full ownership and privacy of your domain information.
• Requests to view your domain’s contact information are filtered and forwarded to you.
• You decide whether or not to respond.

To enable WHOIS Privacy contact your domain name registrar.

Now that you are aware that this is possible be cautious of your renewal notices.

Visit 9thsphere.com to renew or purchase a Canadian domain name.