research-article

Guidelines are only half of the story: accessibility problems encountered by blind users on the web

Authors:

Christopher Power,

David SwallowAuthors Info & Claims

CHI '12: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Pages 433 - 442

https://doi.org/10.1145/2207676.2207736

Published: 05 May 2012 Publication History

Abstract

This paper describes an empirical study of the problems encountered by 32 blind users on the Web. Task-based user evaluations were undertaken on 16 websites, yielding 1383 instances of user problems. The results showed that only 50.4% of the problems encountered by users were covered by Success Criteria in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0). For user problems that were covered by WCAG 2.0, 16.7% of websites implemented techniques recommended in WCAG 2.0 but the techniques did not solve the problems. These results show that few developers are implementing the current version of WCAG, and even when the guidelines are implemented on websites there is little indication that people with disabilities will encounter fewer problems. The paper closes by discussing the implications of this study for future research and practice. In particular, it discusses the need to move away from a problem-based approach towards a design principle approach for web accessibility.

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Cited By

Droutsas NSpyridonis FDaylamani-Zad DGhinea G(2025)Web accessibility barriers and their cross-disability impact in eSystems: A scoping reviewComputer Standards & Interfaces10.1016/j.csi.2024.10392392(103923)Online publication date: Mar-2025
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csi.2024.103923
Lee HXie I(2025)Disability, Accessibility, and Universal DesignEncyclopedia of Libraries, Librarianship, and Information Science10.1016/B978-0-323-95689-5.00139-5(511-518)Online publication date: 2025
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95689-5.00139-5
Oliveira ASantos PAljedaani WEler M(2024)Exploring the Influence of Software Evolution on Mobile App Accessibility: Insights from User ReviewsJournal of the Brazilian Computer Society10.5753/jbcs.2024.432130:1(584-607)Online publication date: 2-Nov-2024
https://doi.org/10.5753/jbcs.2024.4321
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Index Terms

Guidelines are only half of the story: accessibility problems encountered by blind users on the web
1. Applied computing
  1. Document management and text processing
    1. Document preparation
      1. Multi / mixed media creation
2. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Interaction paradigms
      1. Hypertext / hypermedia

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cover image ACM Conferences

CHI '12: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

May 2012

3276 pages

ISBN:9781450310154

DOI:10.1145/2207676

General Chair:
Joseph A. Konstan
University of Minnesota
,
Program Chairs:
Ed H. Chi
Google
,
Kristina Höök
Mobile Life at KTH

Copyright © 2012 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Published: 05 May 2012

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Cited By

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csi.2024.103923
Lee HXie I(2025)Disability, Accessibility, and Universal DesignEncyclopedia of Libraries, Librarianship, and Information Science10.1016/B978-0-323-95689-5.00139-5(511-518)Online publication date: 2025
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95689-5.00139-5
Oliveira ASantos PAljedaani WEler M(2024)Exploring the Influence of Software Evolution on Mobile App Accessibility: Insights from User ReviewsJournal of the Brazilian Computer Society10.5753/jbcs.2024.432130:1(584-607)Online publication date: 2-Nov-2024
https://doi.org/10.5753/jbcs.2024.4321
Mateus DDa Silva FRigatto SDa Silva TParreira Júnior PSouza MFreire A(2024)The Legal Handling of Digital Accessibility: a Comparison of Evaluation and Policy Approaches in Federal-Level Cases in Brazil and the United StatesJournal of the Brazilian Computer Society10.5753/jbcs.2024.325930:1(363-379)Online publication date: 26-Sep-2024
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Marin-Alvarez ECarcelen-Garcia SGalmes-Cerezo M(2024)A Holistic and Multidimensional Methodology Proposal for a Persona with Total Visual Impairment Archetype on the WebSocieties10.3390/soc1407010214:7(102)Online publication date: 27-Jun-2024
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da Silveira LAljeedani WMedeiros Eler M(2024)Strategic Insights into Integrating Accessibility in Software Development: Motivations, Barriers, Commitments, and Business ValueProceedings of the XXIII Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3702038.3702108(1-14)Online publication date: 7-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3702038.3702108
Souza Ade Souza Filho JBezerra CAlves VLima LMarques ATeixeira Monteiro I(2024)Accessibility Evaluation of Web Systems for People with Visual Impairments: Findings from a Literature SurveyProceedings of the XXIII Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3702038.3702090(1-13)Online publication date: 7-Oct-2024
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Wegener AFausel KHaug SMaedche A(2024)A Universal Web Accessibility Feedback Form: A Participatory Design StudyProceedings of the 21st International Web for All Conference10.1145/3677846.3677853(106-117)Online publication date: 13-May-2024
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Swearngin AWu JZhang XGomez ECoughenour JStukenborg RGarg BHughes GHilliard ABigham JNichols J(2024)Towards Automated Accessibility Report Generation for Mobile AppsACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction10.1145/367496731:4(1-44)Online publication date: 19-Sep-2024
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