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One thousand websites will be investigated for their ability to be accessed by Britain's 8.5 million disabled people in the Disability Rights Commission's (DRC) first Formal Investigation, it was announced March 27, 2003.
A key aim of the investigation will be to identify recurrent barriers to web access and to help site owners and developers recognise and avoid them.
The investigation will break new ground in its breadth and depth. 1,000 web sites spanning the public and private sectors will be tested for basic compliance with recognised industry accessibility standards. In addition, 50 people with various disabilities will be involved in in-depth testing of a representative sample of these sites for practical usability. This work will help clarify the relationship between a site's compliance with standards and its practical usability for disabled people.
The Disability Rights Commission is empowered by the Disability Rights Commission Act 1999 to instigate formal investigations aimed at eliminating discrimination and encouraging good practice in the treatment of disabled people.
The Formal Investigation into website accessibility for people with disabilities in England, Scotland and Wales 2003 will, through the examination of representative sample sites, include the following:
- A systematic evaluation of the extent to which the current design of websites accessed via the Internet facilitates or hinders use by disabled people in England, Scotland and Wales;
- An analysis of the reasons for any recurrent barriers identified by the evaluation, including a provisional assessment of any technical and commercial considerations which are presently discouraging inclusive design;
- Recommendations for further work, which will contribute towards enabling disabled people to enjoy full access to, and use of, the Web.
The research supporting this Formal Investigation will be conducted in collaboration with a team from the Centre for Human Computer Interaction Design at City University London, led by Professor Helen Petrie. The findings of the DRC's investigation are expected by the end of this year.
The commercial benefits of an accessible site and the DRC investigation suggest that all firms should develop standards and procedures for ensuring accessible sites. Different people have different difficulties such as reading small print or certain fonts, problems with or even inability to position a mouse accurately, distinguishing print from the background, and absolute blindness. Websites can be made accessible to all these disabilities but it requires thought and planning.
If you are considering making your site accessible, The Usability Company works together with the RNIB to offer a fast track service for companies wishing to acquire the RNIB's See It Right website accessibility logo. The See It Right Logo is the only independent evaluation of website accessibility and through this new relationship, we will manage the award process to RNIB's exacting standards. The process can be completed in approximately two months.
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