Why You Should Make All Your Publications and Documents Accessible.

Not that long ago, corporations and government agencies realized that customers wanted soſt copies of brochures, newsletters, catalog product sheets and all the others types of documents that an organization published. So they started putting their PDF documents onto their websites.

Simply publishing content online is not enough anymore. Accessibility is now something that you need to consider and legislation has been passed that demands that web sites be accessible to everyone including the blind and visually impaired. More importantly, in order to comply, the documents that are on a website must also be accessible as well. Text-to-speech technology helps make online content more easily accessible to a broader audience, including people with dyslexia and other learning disabilities.

Here are 8 reasons why corporations and government agencies need accessibility and text-to-speech technology.

1. Provide compliance with accessibility legislation and lower risk: Accessibility has become a global issue and many governments have developed legislation to ensure that web sites are accessible to all citizens and this includes all the documents that are on websites. Lowering the risk of exposure to litigation against your organization is a priority for all. In the last decade many companies and government agencies have ben faced with litigation from website visitors who have not been able to access the resources found on a web site.

The demographic trends of most fifirst world countries show that the percentage of citizens with disabilities will continue to grow. It is likely that legislation will continue to be enforced more aggressively through litigation, and structured negotiations.

2. Connect with more customers and citizens: With text-to-speech (TTS) technology, you can provide web site visitors with published materials that are accessible to the blind and visually impaired. These people will be able to benefit from access to your newsletters, product catalogs, brochures, announcements, press releases, and all other information you want to publish to the public.

3. Increase corporate social responsibility and enhance your brand: Your organization can improve its reputation and brand by recognizing the importance of accessibility to the blind and visually impaired. By showing your organization cares, you will attract more customers who want to do business with companies that have a social conscience. What’s more, all your corporate materials can be easily branded.

4. Gain competitive advantage: By offering TTS technology, you can stand out in a crowded marketplace by offering an improved user experience to visitors. Differentiate your documents by providing customers and citizens with content that goes beyond what is expected by including text-to-speech technology as a unique selling feature.

5. Improve your corporate learning and training: Accessibility is great for blind or visually impaired employees who need to be trained or take classes offered internally using online course material. TTS also allows employees with dyslexia and learning disabilities and those who do not speak the language fluently to better absorb these course materials since they can read and listen at the same time.

6. Benefit from new advanced technology: Earlier technologies made the creation of digital documents complicated and time consuming. Now end-to-end digital publishing solutions are very affordable and easy and include accessibility and TTS. You can get a complete set of authoring tools that allow you to effortlessly publish your corporate materials to the web and to most mobile platforms. Only one platform is required and all course materials can be accessed in app form, from the desktop or mobile web. Your internal resources do not require programming skills.

7. Appeal to seniors: Demographics show that the percentage of seniors continues to grow as baby boomers approach retirement. It is estimated that in developed countries, 26% of the population will be 65 and over by 2050. Unlike yesterday’s seniors, this new group of seniors is digital savvy.

Many seniors will be faced with visual impairments. Approximately 2 million seniors in the US are dealing with Age-related Macular Degeneration. They are a growing segment of the visually impaired as well as the 4 million adults who are suffering from diabetic retinopathy.

These seniors are not likely to think of themselves as disabled, yet they would still be interested in assistive technologies, such as text-to-speech. As they are accustomed to having access to digital content that is of interest to them, they represent a market that is interested in accessible corporate materials.

8. Take advantage of mobile’s popularity: Mobile use has grown exponentially in recent years and has even surpassed desktop use in terms of online access. For persons with disabilities, the desktop is still the preferred method but preference for mobile access is growing and expected to be equal to that of the desktop shortly. Smartphones have become the most popular assistive technology platform for the blind and visually impaired.

Conclusion.

Technology moves quickly and each technological advancement brings an opportunity to better position your organization. Even organizations that have already invested in digital publishing solutions that do not include accessibility and TTS will be pleasantly surprised to learn that they have options. Digital publishing solutions such as those offered by MediaWire, can be easily implemented as an add-on. Without a hefty price tag, or the need for additional resources, any organization can make their corporate material accessible to millions of web site visitors. Contact MediaWire to learn how easy and affordable it can be.