Evaluating web site accessibility: validating the WAI guidelines through usability testing with disabled users

Authors:
Dagfinn Rømen;Dag Svanæs
Affiliations:
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway;Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Venue:
Proceedings of the 5th Nordic conference on Human-computer interaction: building bridges
Year:
2008

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Abstract

The purpose of the reported study has been to validate empirically the usefulness of using the WAI accessibility guidelines WCAG 1.0 as a heuristic for website accessibility. Through controlled usability tests of two websites with disabled users (N=7) and a control group (N=6) we found that only 27% of the identified website accessibility problems could have been identified through the use of WCAG. We conclude from this that in its current version, the application of WCAG alone is not sufficient to guarantee website accessibility. WCAG has a large potential for improvement, and our data point to some problem areas that we suggest should be included. We recommend that future versions of accessibility guidelines should be based on empirical data and validated empirically.