Companies are not only losing business but also risking prosecution
through poor Web site design. So says the vice-chairman of the BCS
Quality Specialist Group after research showing that sites are
failing to meet the needs of disabled people, writes John
Kavanagh.
Margaret Ross, professor of software quality at Southampton
Institute and a BCS fellow, told the group's annual conference that
in just one area of disability - blindness or partial sight - there
were 1.7 million sufferers in the UK.
"The growth of Internet access means organisations need to look at
their Web sites with all users in mind," she said. "In addition to
the potential revenue increase, there is a legal requirement for
organisations to consider all users' needs. The disability
discrimination and rights commission legislation make it unlawful
for a provider of services to discriminate against a disabled
person - and that includes access to information services."
Her own and other research had found that only 25% of home pages of
some leading organisations passed the automated Bobby test. This
inspects a Web page for ease of access by disabled users. It uses
guidelines from the World Wide Web Consortium.
One study by Ross and a colleague of 100 home pages of
organisations that had achieved the TickIT IT quality management
standard found that only three out of 23 IT and technology
companies, one out of 11 consultancies and four out 14
telecommunications companies passed the Bobby test. Only two out of
12 banks passed, and only four out of 21 manufacturing companies.
Local and central government home pages came out best, with 70%
passing the test.
Ross pointed also to a study of 17 banks and shop chains by the
Royal National Institute for the Blind, which used the Bobby test
and also looked at text legibility, alternative text for images,
whether frames were used, and the ease of navigation. "Only one of
these well known organisations passed all the tests," she said.
"Most only passed one test; some passed none at all. The three
major banks did not have sites suitable for blind or
partially-sighted people."
Ross said there were several reasons for poor Web site design.
"There is often a need to establish or modify a site quickly.
Demand for Web design and development specialists has led often to
shorter training and less experience than for conventional systems
developers. The lack of established methodologies for Web design
and the perceived delay in applying conventional systems design to
Web development could also be factors."
But she added, "Growth in the number of registered blind and
partially-sighted people and of elderly potential customers of Web
services should encourage organisations to consider the design of
their sites. If the marketing opportunities are insufficient
encouragement, the risk of prosecution and the resulting negative
publicity could provide the motivation."
Testing site accessibility
What is the bobby test?
- Tests Web and intranet pages for accessibility
- Created by the not-for-profit organisation CASTwhich aims to
expand the opportunities for disabled people through IT. Now owned
by Watchfire.
How organisations' home pages fared in the bobby test. All 100
sites have the TickIT IT quality standard
- Three passed out of 23 IT and technology companies
- One out of 11 consultancies
- Four out 14 telecoms companies
- Two out of 12 banks
- Four out of 21 manufacturing companies
- Thirteen out of 19 local and central government
sites.