User experience research & design consultants Webcredible released their 2009 Ecommerce Accessibility Report. In studies conducted in January, they analyzed the online experiences of 19 top UK-based high street (U.S. readers, think the generic term “main street”) retailers, using as criteria 20 best practices.

Overall, from their previous report in October 2007, the average score went up from 57% to 62%. In general, the sites reviewed have made improvements, though there is still room for improvement. Most rated in the average/good range.

You need only submit your email address to receive a free copy of the PDF.

Tags: 2009 ecommerce accessibility report, Accessorize, Argos, B&Q, Body Shop, Boots, Currys, Debenhams, Early Learning Centre, Game, H.Samuel, Hamleys, HMV, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Mothercare, Next, Topshop, UK, Waterstones, webcredible, WHSmith

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University has launched Herdict Web, a place in which users can submit websites that they deem accessible or inaccessible.

The results are real-time and show where in the world the users, or as they call them “the herd”, are located. As much, people can see who else is sharing the same positive or negative accessibility experienced on a given site, and perhaps gain insight therein.

It’s an interesting concept, and worth checking out over time.

Read more about the Herdict initiative on their About Us section.

Tags: berkman center for internet and society, crowdsourcing, harvard, herd, herdict

In further proof that web accessibility is becoming more and more of a hot button issue, The National Federation for the Blind is joining with a blind law school applicant in a lawsuit against the Law School Admissions Council. They cite that the council’s web site is inaccessible, including its LSAT preparation materials.

The NFB claims that the site is in violation of the California Disabled Persons Act and the Unruh Act. The Unruh Civil Rights Act “provides protection from discrimination by all business establishments in California, including housing and public accommodations, because of age, ancestry, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation.”¹ Screen readers are unable to read various pieces of the site content, and keyboard-driven navigation is spotty.

It ought to be interesting to see how this pans out. I’m guessing a settlement in which the LSAC commits to making its web site and preparation materials more accessible to the disabled is in the future.

Source Materials:
Group, Blind Sue Law School Admissions Body For Inaccessible Web Site at AHN
Blind law student sues Law School Admissions Council over accessibility at The National Law Journal

¹ Unruh Civil Rights Act (California Civil Code Section 51)

Tags: California Disabled Persons Act, Law School Admission Test, Law School Admissions Council, lawsuit, LSAC, LSAT, National Federation for the Blind, National Law Journal, NFB, Unruh Act

With a little research, you’ll find that the subject of web accessibility is a growing buzzword in the United States and Great Britain, in particular. How is it being regarded or dealt with elsewhere?

Apparently, the topic of making websites more accessible to the disabled is gaining some exposure in India.

As reported in the Deccan Herald in “Accessible websites could become a reality“, a non-government entity in Bangalore, India called the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) recently reported that a whopping 99% of government websites in that country fail to meet the W3C guidelines on web accessibility.

Interestingly, according to visually-impaired lawyer Kanchan Pamnani, many India-based web developers adhere to web accessibility standards in work they do for their international partners, but not for sites they build domestically.

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), feeling pressure because of the perception that India web developers aren’t taking the subject seriously, is making efforts now to tackle web accessibility. For starters, it is making its own web site accessible, then will urge its members to do the same.

It certainly seems as if web accessibility is gaining momentum all over the world. It will be interesting to follow NASSCOM’s progress on this, particularly with growing pressure.

Tags: India, NASSCOM, National Association of Software and Services Companies, W3C, World Wide Web Consortium

WebAIM recently posted results to a survey of screen reader users, conducted from December 2008 – January 2009. In Survey of Preferences of Screen Readers Users, they share very interesting results regarding the usage of screen reader technology in web navigating.

Some of the initial findings perhaps aren’t surprising. Of the 1121 participants, the vast majority (nearly 90%) use screen reader technology all of the time and because of a disability. 96% of them cited visual impairment, in most cases outright blindness.

The breakdown of screen reader usage is insightful:

• JAWS – 74%
• Windows Eyes – 23%
• NVDA – 8%
• VoiceOver – 6%

(WebAIM points out that percentages often don’t add up to 100% due to rounding, and in this case also because of the possibility of usage of multiple products)

Most of the participants utilize desktop PCs (78%), with just over half use screen readers on a laptop. Those using mobile technology with screen readers made up a much smaller 12%.

Lastly (for this post), web browser usage breaks down as follows:

• Internet Explorer 7 – 68%
• Firefox – 39%
• Internet Explorer 6 – 33%
• Safari – 6%
• Internet Explorer 8 – 2%

Amongst the nearly 7% of participants who used screen readers though were not disabled (some for evaluation purposes), Firefox usage was twice as prevalent. It was also noted that the question was not worded “primary” browser, just browser usage, and that IE8 and Safari were, essentially, write-in votes.

While none of this is exact science, the findings are all-around very interesting and offer a glimpse into the methods and practices of screen reader users.

I’ll close for now, having focused on the software and hardware findings. There are a slew of results covering browsing tendencies, from home page navigation to access keys to Flash and imagery frustrations/ease of use.

All in all, these results are well worth combing through and considering when evaluating accessibility, particularly as it relates to the visually impaired.

Tags: blindness, jaws, NVDA, screen readers, survey, visually impaired, VoiceOver, WebAIM, Windows Eyes