Since the Disability Discrimination Act has come into force in 2005, usability and accessibility has driven the new design for www.black-stallion.co.uk, home of Gran Culom, a Spanish Horse available for stud in the UK.

The Disability Discrimination Act details how UK businesses should provide equal service to the disabled, including the legibility of their website(s). The Black Stallion site uses guidelines set out by the UK Government and the W3C to ensure consistent legibility in any browser by anyone. Since the re-design, a reviewer on Amazon in fact said “The layout and design of the pages seems to work in most browsers.”

An added benefit of having an accessible website, incorporating well structured code and layout, is that sites are likely to do better in the search engines, such as Google, Yahoo and MSN. Using Black Stallion as an example, on MSN Search the keyword phrase “stallion for stud UK” gives a placing of 3rd, despite competition from much larger sites.

The re-design was carried out by Sixth Sense ESP (http://www.sixthsense-esp.co.uk) who has experience in creating website designs that focus on attractiveness and usability. Samantha Hicks, Black Stallion’s owner spoke of the company favourably; “Sixth Sense ESP have created a professional website that not only looks great but brings in visitors too!”

Clearly a site that is accessible has many advantages, not only from an ethical point of view but from a business perspective as well. Either way, the Disability Discrimination Act is no longer a guidance document, but a law.