These include:

• Increasing Market Share And Audience Reach
• Improving Efficiency
• Demonstrate Social Responsibility
• Reducing Legal Liability

Increasing Market Share And Audience Reach

Increased accessibility has a number of positive effects which can contribute to an increase in the size of the audience that access the site. A bigger audience will in turn offer a potential increase in market share for that business. The target group of a site can be extended in a number of ways, listed below.

Supporting Low Levels Of Literacy

Users, who have a different level of literacy or do not fluently speak the language in which the Web site is composed, would find it easier to understand if the content is formulated in a plain and easy to understand way.

Optimisation For Search Engines

Search engines cannot find contents offered embedded in pictures, video- or audio-files. They can however, read textual descriptions of the files. Presenting the content using these alternative methods can also help to increase the potential audience for a site.

Creating Content For Multiple Devices

Adapting a site's content to comply with the WCAG 1.0 technology makes the site available to a large number of users accessing the information with new intenet enabled technologies and devices.

Supporting Internationalisation

Globalisation of the markets require Web sites to support broad and multinational target groups. Including sub-titles in video and audio documents allows also easy adaption of other languages without reproducing the content.

Providing Access For Low Bandwidth Users

Although high-bandwidth technology is catching on, a low-bandwidth version should still be made available for Web sites featuring high bandwidth consuming content as at present, since only few Web users have the required high-speed Internet connection. Low-bandwidth users who are unable to access the site's content because of a missing slow-speed version of the site should not be neglected.

Improving Efficiency

Increased usability facilitates improves the efficiency of disseminating information to a varied audience. The cost benefits to the business cannot be ignored. Efficiency is increased through a variety of effects, listed below:

Increasing Productivity

Corporations can benefit from higher productivity gained through more accessible and therefore more usable working environments for their disabled and non-disabled employees. It can be assumed that current Web sites are 3 times easier to use for non-disabled users than users with disabilities.

Reduction In Site Maintenance

Compliance to W3C guidelines can also help to reduce maintenance costs for a Web site. New technologies or introduction of additional target groups may require fundamental changes or additions to the site. This process can be simplified by constructing the site with the help of style sheets, text alternatives for images and multimedia content, device independent development and the separation of structure from content.

Improved Support For Site Search Engines

A page featuring text alternatives for images, multimedia content, understandable content, metadata and in turn helps users utilising the site's search engine rather than its navigation to find the required information more easily. This makes it easier for users to find and access the information they're looking for thereby minimizing the need for mail or telephone support.

Demonstrate Social Responsibility

Every company wants to increase customer loyalty. Improving a Web site's accessibility gives the user the feeling that a company has a sense of social responsibility - that it cares about its community. As the proportion of users with age-related disabilities continues to grow among Web users, conscientious marketing departments would be wise to ensure that their special requirements are supported by the company Web site.

Reducing Legal Liability

Legislation is becoming increasingly and universally in favour of anti-discriminatory measures relating to the rights of a disabled person to access information available on the Internet. The legal situation on accessibility varies globally. An increasing number of government agencies and industry organisations are considering the introduction of legislation for equality of all people accessing electronic information or services.