ACCESSIBILITY EXPERTS TO PRESENT NOV. 25 SEMINAR ON HOW TO DESIGN SOPHISTICATED YET UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE WEB SITES More Than 54 Million Americans Have a Disability, But Less Than 25 Percent of Websites Are Accessible

Ripple Effects Interactive, a national leading interactive marketing agency with unique expertise in universal accessibility, and Watchfire Corporation, a leading provider of universal accessibility testing software, will present Accessible Website Design, an online seminar for businesses interested in expanding their base of potential customers by making their sites universally accessible. The seminar, which is scheduled for November 25 from 2-3 p.m. EST on the Watchfire website (www.watchfire.com/news/seminars.aspx), will provide marketers with techniques on how to incorporate universal accessibility with creative, brand-consistent design for their companies web properties.

PITTSBURGH PA (PRWEB) November 7, 2003 ---Nov. 7, 2003 -- Ripple Effects Interactive, a national leading interactive marketing agency with unique expertise in universal accessibility, and Watchfire Corporation, a leading provider of universal accessibility testing software, will present Accessible Website Design, an online seminar for businesses interested in expanding their base of potential customers by making their sites universally accessible. The seminar, which is scheduled for November 25 from 2-3 p.m. EST on the Watchfire website (www.watchfire.com/news/seminars.aspx), will provide marketers with techniques on how to incorporate universal accessibility with creative, brand-consistent design for their companies web properties.

The webinar will discuss different ways people access web content, the primary accessibility hurdles, and government- and industry-issued guidelines for accessibility design and compliance. It will be presented by David McGeehan, director of user experience at Ripple Effects Interactive, and Michael Cooper, product manager of accessibility solutions at Watchfire.

There are two common misperceptions about web accessibility," said McGeehan. One, companies think that if you design a site to be universally accessible, you have to sacrifice innovative creative design. Two, some think that accessibility design is a luxury that does not need to be addressed now."

Both views are incorrect," he said. The best websites on the Internet are accessible to disabled users. The main reason why they are among the best is not because they literally reach a larger audience by being universally accessible -- which they do -- but because usability and user experience were key factors in the design process."

Americans with disabilities make up 10 percent of the nations population, according to Forrester Research. Such a sizable group cannot be ignored if companies want to build and expand their business, according to Cooper.

Companies can build new sites, or retrofit existing sites, to ensure accessibility," said Cooper. It does not matter which they choose, as long as they choose one. Otherwise, as the Baby Boomer generation ages, companies essentially are snubbing one of the markets most significant consumer bases -- which number tens of millions of people -- and forgo maximizing their online marketing investment."

In its research study, Design Accessible Sites Now, Forrester reported government action and an aging population will make web accessibility a priority over the next two years and that offering equal access to disabled users can win firms a loyal audience and encourage leadership in corporate citizenship."

Ripple Effects Interactive and Watchfire combine to form a formidable team with expertise and extensive experience in helping leading companies create, retrofit and test their sites to comply with universal accessibility guidelines, including Section 508 and the World Wide Web Consortiums Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (W3C WCAG), which cover government and business sector sites, respectively.

Those interested in attending the online seminar can register at http://www.watchfire.com/news/seminars.aspx#rip.

About Watchfire
Watchfire provides Online Business Management software and services to manage the brand, risk, and cost effectiveness of online business. More than 50 percent of the Fortune 500, such as ChevronTexaco, HP and Dell rely on Watchfire to optimize their online business investments and to help them gain competitive advantage. Watchfire's alliance partners include PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mercury Interactive, CA, Microsoft, Interwoven and Documentum. Watchfire maintains dual headquarters in Waltham, MA and Ottawa, Canada. For more information, please visit www.watchfire.com.

About Ripple Effects Interactive
Ripple Effects Interactive is a premier interactive agency -- recently ranked among the nations top 50 by Ad Age magazine -- that partners with clients to create innovative online marketing campaigns. The agency offers a full range of services - from strategic marketing communications and website design to online marketing and application development. Located in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with representation in Washington, D.C., Ripple Effects Interactive features a team of 40 interactive specialists. Since 1998 the agency has worked with government, education and large corporate clients, including the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, GlaxoSmithKline, Carnegie Mellon University, Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola. Ripple Effects Interactive has built a reputation for high-quality work, winning more than 75 industry awards in the past three years alone, including the prestigious ID Magazine Gold Award for website design. For more background, visit www.RippleEffectsInteractive.com.

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