scholarly journals Improving accessibility of CMS-based websites using automated methods

Author(s):  
Balázs Csontos ◽  
István Heckl

AbstractNew methods of identifying and fixing accessibility issues on websites are presented in this article. The websites taken into consideration by the research are created with content management systems (like WordPress or Joomla!). Our main goal was to develop different methods to improve accessibility that may be used by various user groups (website creators, operators, content editors). Some of our methods are easy to use, some need more proficiency. The three methods we have developed (CSS/SCSS class override, MVC-based extension override, HTML output override) are described in detail. The use of an already existing method (Data entry checking) is also introduced, as well as some development options of this method. Each method is introduced in general, furthermore an example of their usage is also presented. Using the proposed methods, websites can fulfil the recommendations of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) in order to make the content of the websites more accessible.

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-145
Author(s):  
Subhajit Panda ◽  
Rupak Chakravarty

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify the status of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) conformance levels (A, AA, AAA) and accessibility status in terms of Severity (Error, Warning and Review) and Responsibility (Editor, Webmaster and Developer) of Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Library websites based on Siteimprove Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform.Design/methodology/approachThe library websites of IITs were tested using Siteimprove web-tool to gather details pertaining to W3C's WCAG 2.1 standards. The data thus obtained were then visualized using spreadsheet software for greater insight. A partial correlation test was also done to assess the relationship between the three conformance levels.FindingsThe study could identify significant accessibility-related limitations of the IIT library websites concerning the three WCAG 2.1 conformance levels A (max IIT Bombay), AA (max IIT Dhanbad (ISM)) and AAA (max IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Varanasi (BHU)), Severity and Responsibility. A positive linear relationship exists amongst these conformance levels. The mean value of conformance levels were found to be 18.3 (A), 2.2 (AA) and 3.1 (AAA); Severity scores were found to be 14.4 (Error), 3.9 (Warning) and 5.2 (Review); and Responsibility scores were found to be 6 (Editor), 9.3 (Webmaster) and 8.3 (Developer), respectively.Practical implicationsThe study highlights the comparative picture of accessibility issues and conformance levels of the IITs' library website homepage with the help of results derived/based on Siteimprove Accessibility Checker. The findings of the study reveal that though the library website of IITs' in India possess a well-designed and easily navigable website homepage as far as their accessibility for VIPs is concerned, there are several issues that are still to be resolved.Social implicationsWorld Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) Marrakesh VIP Treaty (MVT) and the W3C's WCAG cater to the requirements and rights of the persons with vision-related disability of accessing information and knowledge building a steeper and deeper knowledge divide. Identifying and rectifying the shortcomings in the library websites will bridge the accessibility-divide and make the society more inclusive.Originality/valueNo previous study could be identified evaluating the accessibility issues of the library website of Indian IITs focussed on vision-disabled persons using Siteimprove. The methodology and approach of this paper have value in terms of reusability and reproducibility facilitating future studies.


Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Alsaeedi

With the growth of e-services in the past two decades, the concept of web accessibility has been given attention to ensure that every individual can benefit from these services without any barriers. Web accessibility is considered one of the main factors that should be taken into consideration while developing webpages. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) have been developed to guide web developers to ensure that web contents are accessible for all users, especially disabled users. Many automatic tools have been developed to check the compliance of websites with accessibility guidelines such as WCAG 2.0 and to help web developers and content creators with designing webpages without barriers for disabled people. Despite the popularity of accessibility evaluation tools in practice, there is no systematic way to compare the performance of web accessibility evaluators. This paper first presents two novel frameworks. The first one is proposed to compare the performance of web accessibility evaluation tools in detecting web accessibility issues based on WCAG 2.0. The second framework is utilized to evaluate webpages in meeting these guidelines. Six homepages of Saudi universities were chosen as case studies to substantiate the concept of the proposed frameworks. Furthermore, two popular web accessibility evaluators, Wave and SiteImprove, are selected to compare their performance. The outcomes of studies conducted using the first proposed framework showed that SiteImprove outperformed WAVE. According to the outcomes of the studies conducted, we can conclude that web administrators would benefit from the first framework in selecting an appropriate tool based on its performance to evaluate their websites based on accessibility criteria and guidelines. Moreover, the findings of the studies conducted using the second proposed framework showed that the homepage of Taibah University is more accessible than the homepages of other Saudi universities. Based on the findings of this study, the second framework can be used by web administrators and developers to measure the accessibility of their websites. This paper also discusses the most common accessibility issues reported by WAVE and SiteImprove.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (18) ◽  
pp. 6324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Salvador-Ullauri ◽  
Patricia Acosta-Vargas ◽  
Mario Gonzalez ◽  
Sergio Luján-Mora

Nowadays, one of the learning resources in the educational area are serious games, also called training games; they are games designed with a different purpose than fun, whose main objective is to reinforce the new concepts more creatively. However, not all existing serious games are accessible in a way that allows access to a more significant number of users. Therefore, this research proposes to apply a combined method to evaluate accessibility in serious games, considering the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. As a case study, we evaluated the accessibility of 82 serious games developed by Physical Education Technology Interactive Simulations at the University of Colorado. We propose to replicate this combined method for users with various types of disabilities, considering the various accessibility barriers. As future work, we suggest generating an accessibility heuristic evaluation focused on serious games, based on the accessibility issues identified. Finally, we believe it is essential to strengthen accessibility policies in each country, as well as implement best practices that generate innovation by incorporating diversity in building and designing more inclusive serious games.


Author(s):  
Sven Schmutz ◽  
Andreas Sonderegger ◽  
Juergen Sauer

Objective: The present study examined whether implementing recommendations of Web accessibility guidelines would have different effects on nondisabled users than on users with visual impairments. Background: The predominant approach for making Web sites accessible for users with disabilities is to apply accessibility guidelines. However, it has been hardly examined whether this approach has side effects for nondisabled users. A comparison of the effects on both user groups would contribute to a better understanding of possible advantages and drawbacks of applying accessibility guidelines. Method: Participants from two matched samples, comprising 55 participants with visual impairments and 55 without impairments, took part in a synchronous remote testing of a Web site. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of three Web sites, which differed in the level of accessibility (very low, low, and high) according to recommendations of the well-established Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0). Performance (i.e., task completion rate and task completion time) and a range of subjective variables (i.e., perceived usability, positive affect, negative affect, perceived aesthetics, perceived workload, and user experience) were measured. Results: Higher conformance to Web accessibility guidelines resulted in increased performance and more positive user ratings (e.g., perceived usability or aesthetics) for both user groups. There was no interaction between user group and accessibility level. Conclusion: Higher conformance to WCAG 2.0 may result in benefits for nondisabled users and users with visual impairments alike. Application: Practitioners may use the present findings as a basis for deciding on whether and how to implement accessibility best.


Author(s):  
Maria Alciléia Alves Rocha ◽  
Gabriel de Almeida Souza Carneiro

Web content should suit both a general audience and visually-impaired individuals. Therefore, Web applications should be assessed against accessibility standards as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Brazilian e-Government Accessibility Model (eMAG). This chapter presents MIAV's development process and the obtained results. The MIAV complies with the WCAG and eMAG, combining automated and user-opinion-based assessment approaches. First, a pilot test was run to fine-tune MIAV. Next, participants were asked to identify and report several accessibility issues on IFFluminense's Portal, Q-Academico, and Moodle. They then suggested enhancements for better browsing experience. AccessMonitor was run and tested the same Web pages to generate two indicators: the average accessibility index and the percentage of nonconformities by accessibility level. Results showed that none of the evaluated applications met all the accessibility criteria. These experiments allowed IFFluminense's IT degree students to raise an awareness of the significance of Web accessibility.


2021 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 05007
Author(s):  
Andrei Yermolenko ◽  
Yuriy Golchevskiy

The article presents an overview of the main stages of development and formation of content management systems as a component of software, in conjunction with the material base. The need of a society in creation and development of systems is revealed. The main elements of the mentioned systems, their functionality, and user groups are described. The features of modern content management systems are presented. The change in approaches to the development of such systems from monolithic to distributed systems is outlined. Further formation of Web-content management systems is seen in the development of systems with open source code, using Web 3.0, refining tools analysis of the quality of content, support for business B2B and B2C, interface development, active use of headless CMS, support of a new level of SEO, implementation of artificial intelligence algorithms. Keywords: content management systems


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-71
Author(s):  
Herru Darmadi ◽  
Yan Fi ◽  
Hady Pranoto

Learning Object (LO) is a representation of interactive content that are used to enrich e-learning activities. The goals of this case study were to evaluate accessibility and compatibility factors from learning objects that were produced by using BINUS E-learning Authoring Tool. Data were compiled by using experiment to 30 learning objects by using stratified random sampling from seven faculties in undergraduate program. Data were analyzed using accessibility and compatibility tests based on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level A. Results of the analysis for accessibility and compatibility tests of Learning Objects was 90% better than average. The result shows that learning objects is fully compatible with major web browser. This paper also presents five accessibility problems found during the test and provide recommendation to overcome the related problems. It can be concluded that the learning objects that were produced using BINUS E-learning Authoring Tool have a high compatibility, with minor accessibility problems. Learning objects with a good accessibility and compatibility will be beneficial to all learner with or without disabilities during their learning process. Index Terms—accessibility, compatibility, HTML, learning object, WCAG2.0, web


Information ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose-Manuel Martinez-Caro ◽  
Antonio-Jose Aledo-Hernandez ◽  
Antonio Guillen-Perez ◽  
Ramon Sanchez-Iborra ◽  
Maria-Dolores Cano

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