Web accessibility tops the agenda

Web accessibility is to take centre stage at the International World Wide Web conference (WWW2006) in Edinburgh tomorrow (Tuesday), underlining again the importance of the issue to web site owners.

Despite increased awareness recently, poor standards for web users with impaired vision, learning and hearing continues to be the norm, not the exception.

Chris Rourke, Managing Director of leading user-experience consultancy User Vision will be addressing the conference by describing some of the important lessons learned from performing usability tests with disabled users, including the discovery of barriers to use that are not covered by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Comments Rourke: “The emphasis on accessibility at WWW2006 is further evidence of the way in which the UK is moving the agenda forward, and it’s great that accessibility is being seen as such a significant issue for the web industry. That said, it is disappointing that there is still a need to persuade web designers to take accessibility seriously – but without events like this we will not change that. Both the new and forthcoming guidelines are good news for the web community as we drive forward, and we are glad to be working with fellow professionals to share our thoughts on what these guidelines mean and how they are applied.”

The WWW2006 conference, organised by the University of Southampton in association with the British Computer Society and several other international organisations, brings together the key influencers, decision makers, technologists, businesses and standards bodies shaping the future of the web.

Some two years on from research which showed that 81 per cent of 1000 sites tested did not meet even the minimum Level A standard for accessibility, the state of accessibility across the board has only marginally improved, conference delegates will be told.

Particular reference will be made to recent new guidelines including PAS 78, which were introduced in March by the British Standards Institute. Additionally, the forthcoming release of version 2 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines will be under the spotlight. Eagerly awaited for more than a year, the new version will introduce some changes, such as technology independence, so that accessibility can be achieved through a wider range of technology platforms and coding languages. This degree of generality is likely to be important as web technologies naturally evolve, as evidenced by techniques such as AJAX and Web 2.0.

WWW2006 also aims to develop skills and raise awareness of the future of accessibility by incorporating the International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility. Run by specialists from the University of Manchester's School of Computer Science, the workshop brings together leading international researchers in the field to examine the technical requirements for achieving web accessibility, to advise on best practice, and to discuss real world examples of how organisations can achieve good accessibility through web development.

Additionally, the Scottish Usability Professionals' Association will host an event tomorrow evening (Tuesday) featuring presentations from members of the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative and the RNIB's Julie Howell, lead author of PAS 78.