IT’S popping up on council websites around the region, but the influence of web-accessibility tool Recite is tempting private companies and overseas governments.

Authorities such as Gateshead Council are using the software-as-a-service platform, which intercepts websites and converts to a format that can be easily read by dyslexic and visually-impaired users. Middlesbrough’s DigitalCity has taken advantage of the service offered by Gateshead firm Recite, while it’s being implemented for Sunderland City Council.

Recite was set up by former Northumbria University Student Union president Ross Linnett, who discovered he was dyslexic.

His old university is among his customers now, but his idea has attracted private operations such as Go-Ahead Northern. The company has potential deals in the pipeline for government websites, which would increase its profile at a time in which guidelines for web accessibility are being strengthened around the world.

Guidelines for web accessibility in this country are laid out by measures such as the Equality Act, and organisations such as the British Standards Institute, although compliance with all recommendations are not currently a legal requirement.

However, countries like Australia are raising the bar on access for those with disabilities in 2014.