Majority of Global Web Sites Offer Poor Accessibility to Disabled Users
Tuesday, 05 December 2006
UK-based Web accessibility agency Nomensa released the results of the first ever global Web site accessibility survey. The report, which was commissioned by the United Nations (UN), reveals that 97 percent of Web sites tested fail to achieve the minimum Web accessibility level.
“This is the first ever global survey to measure the extent to which people living with disabilities are able to benefit from technological developments online,” says Simon Norris, managing director of Nomensa. “With online information linking people increasingly together, it is vital that sections of the global population are not alienated and left out as innovation continues apace.”
Using a combination of manual and automated testing against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), Nomensa examined the leading Web site in five different sectors in 20 countries, including its Head of State and leading airline, bank, newspaper and retailer. In all, the survey comprehensively tested 100 Web sites based on generally agreed upon international standards.
“Performance across the different sectors was varied, with central government, retail and banking offering the strongest accessibility performances across all countries,” adds Norris. “While only three Web sites made it onto the first rung of the accessibility ladder, many Web sites were in grasping distance of achieving minimum levels of accessibility.”
The three Web sites achieving the minimum standards were the German Chancellor’s Web site, the Spanish Government Web site, and the British Prime Minister’s Web site.
Key shortfalls identified in the report were:
· 93 percent did not provide adequate text descriptions for graphical content, causing problems for visually impaired people;
· 73 percent relied on JavaScript for important functionality, making it impossible for an estimated 10 percent of Internet users using the Internet to access key information;
· 78 percent used foreground and background color combinations with poor contrast, making it difficult for people with mild visual conditions, such as color blindness, to read information;
· 98 percent did not follow industry Web standards for the programming code, providing poor foundations for Web accessibility;
· 97 percent used fixed units of measurement, preventing people from altering the size of text or comfortably resizing the page so that content can be easily scaled;
· 89 percent failed to use the correct technique for conveying document structure through the use of headings, making page navigation awkward for many visually impaired people;
· 87 percent caused pop-up windows to appear without warning the user, causing disorientation problems for people using screen magnification software.
·“The results from the survey are consistent and identify many common themes that cross borders and cultures – many of which must be addressed,” says Léonie Watson, Nomensa's head of accessibility.
For detailed information about Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, go to http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/#priorities
The 20 countries audited in the Nomensa-led United Nations survey were: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States of America.