It’s out!

I found the latest edition of my favourite magazine of the moment today, and have in the past hour put myself out of my misery and finally taken out a subscription.

I’ve mentioned .net in these pages before because it’s packed with useful stuff for people making their own websites, and this month’s is no exception.

Among other things catching my attention this month, there’s an article on making and altering WordPress templates (exactly what I did to create this blog) and a really useful feature on legal obligations for website makers, which I’m going to look at in this item.

Avoiding the lawyers

The key headings in the .net  article are:

Copyright
Contracts
Data Protection
Intellectual Property
Accessibility

I’ve actually just been reviewing my own websites against some of these criteria, so it was timely that this feature appeared in the magazine.

Most of my sites has a terms and conditions or essential info page depending on the nature of the site.

I’ve also outlined policy on data protection issues in my Privacy Policy pages and got myself registered with the ICO because although it’s only very basic data, I do collect names and emails addresses for registration purposes on some of my sites.

I’m no legal expert, but as part of my broadcasting work and training, legal, copyright and accessibility issues are taken extremely seriously … and rightly so.

The feature in the .net  article gives some really useful website links which I’ll pass on to you here:

Own-it … intellectual property advice for businesses

Business Link … incredibly useful website, make sure it’s in your favourites if you’re running – or thinking of running – an online business.

Information Commissioner’s Office … everything you need to know about data protection.

Do check out this site and get registered if you collect any type of information about your site users.

Here are the key principles if you collect data on your website … it should be:

Fairly and lawfully processed

Processed for limited purposes

Adequate, relevant and not excessive

Accurate and up to date

Not kept for longer than is necessary

Processed in line with your rights

Secure

Not transferred to other countries without adequate protection

Society for Computers and the Law … articles and podcasts on the law regulating IT

UK Patent Office … patents and Trade Marks in the UK

W3C Web Accessibility Initiative … ironically a horrible site to navigate, but full of useful and indded essential advice about accessibility matters.

For instance, here’s a snapshot of their WCAG 2.0 Quick Reference List outlining how websites should:

Provide text alternatives for any non-text content

Provide alternatives for synchronized time-based media

Create content that can be presented in different ways

Make it easier for users to see and hear content including separating foreground from background

Make all functionality available from a keyboard

Provide users enough time to read and use content

Not design content in a way that is known to cause seizures

Provide ways to help users navigate, find content and determine where they are

Make text content readable and understandable

Make Web pages appear and operate in predictable ways

Help users avoid and correct mistakes

Maximize compatibility with current and future user agents, including assistive technologies

All these tips are fair enough and perfectly reasonable expectations and will mean more people can use and access … and hopefully spend their money … on your website.

So, lots of useful information in this article, I’ve just touched on key parts here, the full feature can be found in .net issue number 178.

What questions does this raise for you?