The survey looked at both usability and accessibility with a
programme of automated tools as well as a wide range of manual
checks. Only sites which meet the basic needs of visitors
with a vision impairment, dyslexia or physical problem making mouse
use difficult attain three stars and above on AbilityNet's five
star scale.
Of the remaining nine sites, two – The National Trust and
Age Concern
Kingston achieved two stars and the rest – Oxfam, the British Heart Foundation, RNLI, Scotswood Natural Community
Garden, The Cave Rescue
Organisation and Follifoot Park Disabled
Riding Group only scored one star.
The report's author was AbilityNet’s Web Consultancy Manager,
Robin Christopherson, himself blind. He said: “The voluntary sector
is likely to be targeting a proportionately higher percentage of
disabled people amongst its stakeholder groups, which is why these
results are of great concern."
He continued: "I believe that there is now almost universal
awareness of the issues – but it may be that charities feel less
able to identify the skills and resources required. They should
know that it needn’t be expensive to address even significant
accessibility issues on their sites – and that the business
case (even for charities) is overwhelming."
Website Accessibility Conference 2006
Robin Christopherson is among the speakers at a UK national
conference on best-practice public sector website accessibility on
13th June in Edinburgh, being organised by Parallel 56, User Vision
and OUT-LAW.
Event
details at Parallel 56's website
