Compatibility and the Failings of FEMA

When building websites it is always important to make sure that our sites can reach the largest audience as possible. This allows our clients to reach the most potential customers and capture the largest market segment. It is a foundation of good design and development. Unfortunatly not all websites adhere to this basic principle and exclude visitors with their design. This is okay if the visitors are fans of a ban, or playing a flash game online, but it's unacceptable if you are a government agency trying to serve your constituents.

Unfortunatly, the FEMA website has taken an extrememly narrow focus limiting visitors to only those on a Windows Machine running Internet Explorer 6.

This is just really regrettable. I created a website for our local county government. The documentation in the Request for Proposal included the need to have the site accessable to all. We had to work with screen reader technology, made sure every image had descriptive text and tested the site across browsers from 1.x to the latest. If local government can be so forward looking, there's no excuse why we can't see similar attention to detail at the federal level.