Is an Accessible website always Usable?

By Leona Tomlinson


Making a website accessible will go some way to making it usable, but it may not necessarily mean that the website will be ‘easy to use’.

In the UK an estimated 2 million people have a vision impairment, 1.5 million have cognitive difficulties and 3.4 million have a disability which prevents them using the standard keyboard, screen and mouse set-up. These figures do not account for the 6 million users with dyslexia, the many millions who experience literacy difficulties and those where English is not their first language. Additionally, there is a growing number of elderly ‘silver surfers’ who are generally less confident about using computers and would significantly benefit from having a more accessible and usable interface.

Despite legislation being in place for over a decade, some recent studies carried out by AbilityNet found that between 80% and 96% of websites do not even meet a minimum accessibility threshold. Prior to this, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) created the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) which saw the creation of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG) in 1999. Whilst the guidelines specifically talk in the context of disabled users, those without disabilities also benefit from accessible websites in that they generally find them quicker and easier to use by up to 35%.6

AbilityNet has also found that commercial websites that have been re-launched in a more accessible form have seen savings in maintenance costs of up to 70%, rises in natural search engine traffic of around 30% and an additional 13,000 visitors each month from improved browser compatibility alone.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USABLE ACCESSIBILITY?
A strict focus on accessibility does not in itself create an accessible and usable website. We need to go above and beyond the technical aspects provided by WCAG and take into account the ‘human factors’ of browsing a website. We need to be aware of how users with disabilities access and use websites such as those accessing with screen readers, voice recognition and magnification software.

The benefits of usable accessibility are demonstrated more clearly in situations where accessibility checkpoints have been achieved but sites remain unusable. It is not until the website is tested by real users that these usability issues are exposed. Engaging disabled users in testing the website with real tasks, in addition to following the accessibility guidelines is the only guaranteed way of ensuring everyone can use the website easily and effectively.

For this reason, accessibility and usability should be combined to ensure the website can be accessed by the widest possible audience. AbilityNet is able to offer information, advice and a range of services to help make a website accessible and usable for everyone – including accessibility audits, disabled end user testing, training, support, accessible web design and a range of useful resources.

Associated Link: AbilityNet

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