A Comparative Investigation of the Accessibility Levels of Irish Websites

The original intention of the web was that it should be a cross-platform, device-independent method to exchange documents and information (Lynch & Horton, 1999 cited by Huang, 2002). Online information can be retrieved and distributed cheaply and quickly and for the first time in history the World Wide Web allows the visually impaired to read from the same original sources of information as a sighted person (Williamson, Schauder & Bow, 2000, cited by Golub, 2002). However this is only possible where the web pages are designed and coded correctly. The accessible web movement, fronted by the W3C promotes the design of ‘accessible’ websites.

This dissertation will look at a range of prominent Irish websites with a view to assessing their accessibility levels. It will compare the current results with those of a 2002 study (McMullin, 2002) which looked at the accessibility levels of the same websites and will attempt to draw a conclusion on accessibility trends in Ireland and reasons why this is the case. It will also examine the concept of ‘partial accessibility’. Before it is possible to do this however, the concept of accessibility and how it might be measured must first be defined.

Web accessibility can be defined in two ways. The first definition states that accessible websites are those that are accessible to the disabled, such as the visually impaired, hearing impaired, motor impaired and cognitively impaired. This is generally titled ‘Accessible Design’.

The second definition simply states that accessible websites are available to all regardless of ability, platform, or device. This has various nomenclatures including ‘Universal Design’, ‘Design for All’ and ‘Inclusive Design’. The second definition deemphasises disabilities and emphasises the concept of inclusiveness.

Anders and Fechtner (1999, cited by Yu, 2003) claim that ‘universal design attempts to meet the needs of all people, and includes those of all ages, physical abilities, sensory abilities, and cognitive skills’. In summary, and for the purposes of this dissertation, an accessible website should facilitate anybody, using any kind of Web browser, on any platform, to access and retrieve the full amount of information available.

For the purposes of this dissertation, websites will be assessed for accessibility using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), version 1.0.

7.2.1 WCAG 1.0

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) launched the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) in April, 1997 (Sullivan & Matson, 2000). WCAG 1.0 became a WAI recommendation in 1999 (Brewer, 2004). WCAG guidelines are an ‘indicator of web accessibility’ (McMullin, 2002) which consist of 14 separate guidelines and 65 specific checkpoints, which are broken into 3 levels of priority: priority 1, 2 & 3.

Priority 1 guidelines must be met in order to afford basic accessibility. Priority 2 guidelines should be met to offer additional access to a broader range of disabled groups. Priority 3 guidelines may be met to provide further additional support (Brewer, 2004; McMullin, 2002; Williams & Rattray, 2003; Sullivan & Matson, 2000; Hackett et al, 2004).

There are 3 levels of compliance with the WCAG 1.0 guidelines: A, AA and AAA. The compliance level of A means that all priority 1 guidelines are satisfied. The compliance level of AA means that all priority 1 and 2 guidelines are satisfied. AA is considered to be ‘professional standard’. The compliance level of AAA means that all priority 1, 2 and 3 guidelines are satisfied. AAA is considered to be ‘gold standard’ (Brewer, 2004; McMullin, 2002; Loiacono & McCoy, 2004; Hackett et al, 2004). Note that in order for a site to be truly compliant to any particular level it must satisfy all the checkpoints to that level, not simply those which can be verified by accessibility verification software.

7.2.2 WCAG 2.0

The WCAG 2.0 Guidelines are currently under development. They are planned to be backwards compatible with WCAG 1.0, so that sites which are already compatible with WCAG 1.0 will need only minor changes to ensure compatibility with the WCAG 2.0 version (Brewer, 2004). However, as these are not yet complete, and the original 2002 study (McMullin, 2002) used WCAG 1.0, this study will also only look at compliance with the WCAG 1.0 guidelines.

There are several legal, financial and ethical advantages to ensuring that websites are accessible to all.

7.3.1 Accessible Websites are Legally Compliant

Within the last decade, many countries have begun to implement a legal requirement for websites to be accessible. Often this has been the result of general disability or equality legislation, rather than legislation directed specifically at online access.

Part 1 Section 4(1) of the Equal Status Act, Ireland, 2000 states that a failure to do all that is reasonable to provide a service to a person with a disability is deemed an act of discrimination.

4. - (1) For the purposes of this Act discrimination includes a refusal or failure by the provider of a service to do all that is reasonable to accommodate the needs of a person with a disability by providing special treatment or facilities, if without such special treatment or facilities it would be impossible or unduly difficult for the person to avail himself or herself of the service. (Irish Government, 2000, p.9).

The Employment Equality Act, Ireland, 1998, Section 16(3) (Irish Government, 1998, p.20). has a similar definition. The Disability Act, Ireland, 2005 states in section 27(1) that the head of the organisation is responsible for ensuring that services are available to people with disabilities.

27. - (1) Where a service is provided to a public body, the head of the body shall ensure that the service is accessible to persons with disabilities. (Irish Government, 2005, p.28)

A website then, if regarded as a service, must be as available to a disabled person as it is to an able bodied person otherwise the service is discriminatory. Available redress includes compensation and an order that the problem(s) be fixed or removed (Irish Government, 2000, p.26). There is however the issue that it must be argued that a website is actually a service, as it is not defined as such.

Unfortunately, Part 1 Section 4(2) of the Equal Status Act, 2000 (p.9) requires that the cost of accommodating a person with a disability be ‘nominal’, so the case is far from clear cut. The same is true for the Employment Equality Act (1998) and Disability Act, 2005 which in addition states that this does not have to be upheld in the cases where the body providing the service deems it not to be practicable or where the delay in making the goods or services available to other persons is unreasonable.

The concept of a nominal value is in itself vague. A nominal value to a large multi-national might well be a very different amount to a nominal value for an SME.

At present, no cases regarding website access have been taken under these Acts, however other countries have similar laws, under which successful cases have been taken. The most well known is that of Bruce Lindsay Maguire versus SOCOG. In Australia, in August 2000, Bruce Lindsay Maguire, blind since birth, under the Australian Disability Discrimination Act 1992, brought a successful case against the Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) for having an inaccessible website, in particular, lack of ‘alt’ text and problematic navigation. In reaching their decision, the commission found that the potential benefit of access to the site by disabled people justified the development time and costs incurred. Bruce Lindsay Maguire was awarded $20,000 in compensation (Carter, 2000).

The United States also has an implicit requirement for accessible websites for government agencies under the Rehabilitation Act Amendments

Individuals with disabilities who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal department or agency to have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of the information and data by such members of the public who are not individuals with disabilities. (US Government, 1998, para.5)

As a result of this amendment, the Section 508 Web Development Guidelines were created through a partnership between Macromedia and the University of Wisconsin’s Information Technology Department (Macromedia, 2001). These guidelines are similar, though not identical, to the WAI WCAG 1.0 Priority 1 guidelines.

In the UK, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 has, since October 1999, obliged service providers to provide services in such a way that disabled people could access them, making reasonable adjustments to existing practises where necessary.

The European Union has been proactive in developing explicit web accessibility guidelines. The eEurope 2002 Action Plan, declares:

Public sector web sites and their content in Member States and in the European Institutions must be designed to be accessible to ensure that citizens with disabilities can access information and take full advantage of the potential for e-government. (European Commission & Council, 2000, p.19)

The timeframe for adoption of the WAI guidelines by public websites was designated to be the end of 2001. A separate communication from the EU, eEurope 2002: Accessibility of Public Web Sites and their Content, recognised the WAI WCAG 1.0 guidelines to be the ‘global de facto Web accessibility standard’ (European Commission, 2001, p.6) and concluded that both public and private websites should be encouraged to achieve accessibility during 2003, the European Year of Disabled People (European Commission, 2001, p.11).

Currently in Ireland the ‘Excellence Through Accessibility’ Draft Guidelines are available. They contain an explicit reference to accessible websites from an Irish Government Agency, the National Disability Authority. Guideline 14 requires that the organisation’s website is WCAG 1.0 AA compliant to be eligible for the ‘Excellence Through Accessibility’ award (National Disability Authority, 2005). However, compliance with these guidelines are purely voluntary.

7.3.2 Accessible Websites are Available to the Aged and Disabled

Accessible websites naturally have a wider market as they accommodate a broader range of people (Sherman, 2001; Foley & Regan, n.d.). Both the number and proportion of people with disabilities is growing. The proportion of the EU-25 population over 65 has risen from 10% to 16% since 1960 (European Commission, 2004, p.40). Increased life expectancy means that more people are likely to have age-related disabilities, such as visual and aural impairments and dexterity problems. In the 1960s, the life expectancy of a man was 67.4 years, and that of women was 72.9. Current life expectancy in EU-15 countries may be as high as 78 years for men and 83 years for women (European Commission, 2004, p.16). Fertility levels in the EU are below replacement levels (European Commission, 2004, p.40), further adding to the demographic change.

The increased survival rate of children with severe disabilities has also added to the numbers of disabled individuals (Loiacono & McCoy, 2004). Eighty per cent of children born prior to the 26th week of gestation, weighing 700 grams or less develop physical or mental disabilities by age 6. Some of these children are extremely disabled and require life-long care. (Zeier, 2005).

Within the European Union alone it is estimated that the number of people with speech and language or cognitive impairments ranges between 2 million and 5 million (Roe, 1995, cited by Poulson & Nicolle, 2004). In Ireland over 8% of individuals have at least one form of impairment. 2% of the population are either blind or deaf and almost 4.5% have a condition which substantially limits at least one basic physical activity. Almost 3% have difficulty in learning, remembering or concentrating (Irish Government, 2004, p.13)

Once they find a Web site that accommodates their particular needs, disabled web users often become loyal customers (Rogers and Rajkumar, 1999 cited by Huang 2003; Nielsen, 2000 cited by Huang 2003) and therefore having an accessible website can increase both audience retention levels and sales.

48 percent of disabled individuals claim that the Internet has significantly improved their quality of life (National Organization of Disabilities, 2001 cited by Loiacono & McCoy, 2004). People with disabilities spend, on average, 30 hours per week online. This compares to 18 hours per week for those without disabilities (National Organization of Disabilities, 2001 cited by Loiacono & McCoy, 2004).

In addition, accessible websites facilitate the retention of current customers and staff as they age. By the time of retirement age, at 65, most people have lost at least some of their visual ability, including focusing on objects, resolving images, distinguishing between colours and adapting to changes in light (Lescher, 2000 cited by Hackett et al, 2004).

7.3.3 Accessible Websites are Cost Effective

Many companies have found that creating accessible web sites is cost-effective and generally good business practice (Solomon, 2000, cited by Huang 2002, p.3). Accessible websites can increase the numbers of customers while also making the website easier to upgrade by the use of correctly coded style sheets. Correctly coded accessible websites employ the concept of graceful degradation. This means that while a website might not look exactly the same in an older browser or platform, the functionality is nonetheless retained. This principle applies equally to assistive technologies.

Making a website accessible may increase the cost of initial design by one or two percent, but may increase the audience by as much as twenty percent (Heim, n.d., cited by Hackett, Parmanto & Zeng, 2004, p.2). It is much more cost effective to create an accessible site from the beginning as it is estimated that Global 3,500 companies will spend $560 million to retrofit their web sites to meet the WCAG 1.0 guidelines (Souza, Manning, and Dorsey, 2001 cited by Huang, 2002, p.3).

Accessible websites are generally easier to use with increased navigational support in the form of sitemaps and obvious navigation bars. This can lead to increased user productivity, fewer errors, and greater site satisfaction in general. Accessible intranets lead to a decreased need for user support and lower training costs (Sherman, 2001, p.2).

7.3.4 Accessible Websites are Ethically Correct

Access to information via technology, including the Internet, is now a necessary prerequisite for success in both education and employment. Those without access or with limited access are severely disadvantaged.

An organisation which ignores the need for accessible design implies that they don’t believe that disabled people have the right to be treated with respect and consideration. Conversely, organisations which take a proactive stance on this issue are sending the message that these people are important. This can have knock-on effects in terms of positive public relations.

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