Web Accessibility Standards

Websites and web-based applications are the dominant forms of accessing and searching the Internet using web browsers. The design of websites has changed dramatically since the beginning of the Internet some 30 years ago. Websites became very popular during the early 1990s with the new developed publishing language, Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). Early basic websites were only text-based content and linear in the way they display information. Few graphics were present, and hyperlinks used to connect other webpages content. The design of websites and HTML based pages witnessed a leap in sophistication in the last 20 years with the introduction of Graphical User Interface (GUI) design and the artwork that could be embedded in web pages.

This development in the design of websites and browsers and the ease of use has led to an unprecedented surge in the number of users of all ages and ethnic background. Early designs did not address the special needs of persons with disabilities. The concept of digital accessibility became a major requirement to fulfill the principles of equality and justice on which the Internet was built upon for and the inclusion of all people in accessing the Internet.

Many standards are developed to govern the design of web pages in terms of publishing languages, styles, GUI layout and functionalities, and the use of multimedia elements including audio visual content. Web accessibility standards and guidelines are probably the most important and widely adopted for digital accessibility issues. They cover the needs of wide range of disabilities such a visual impairment, hearing impairments, voice disorders, motor skills issues, language or learning. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards, are considered the foundation base for most of the national and International adopted guidelines. These guidelines are built on four sound and high-level concepts that lay down the underpinning principles for Websites accessibility design: Perceivability, Operability, Understandability and Robustness (POUR).

Main Standards and Guidelines and recommendations for digital Accessibility:

  1. W3C Recommendation: "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0" [17]. The main Web content accessibility standard. (/ISO/IEC 40500:2012) (Arabic Translation)[18]
  2. W3C Recommendation (June 2018): "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1"[19]. Extends WCAG 2.0.
  3. W3C Guidelines "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2" [20]. Extended additional criteria to all compliance levels WCAG 2.1.
  4. ITU-T Recommendation F.790[21]. General guidelines to standardize telecommunications equipment, associated software and services for persons with disabilities.
  5. Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) Section 508 Standards[22]. It ensures accessible ICT infrastructure, equipment and services for persons with disabilities.
  6. EN 301 549 Standard[23]. European Standard that covers functional performances for the diverse disabilities and generic e-accessibility requirements.

ISO/IEC 29138-1:2018[24]. A comprehensive International standard made up of 3 parts addressing user interface accessibility — Part 1: User accessibility needs (TR 29138-2 Part 2: Standards inventory, TR 29138-3 Part 3: Guidance on user needs mapping specific for developers, additional documents are included within the standard to better understand [25] the guideline and the techniques on how to implement them[26]. The conformance requirements section of the WCAG 2.0 suggest three conformance levels ( A, AA, AAA), level A is the lowest level while AAA level is significantly hard to achieve. All WCAG guidelines include success criteria to Web content design.

Level AA has medium impact on the design when compared with both A and AAA levels. While level A criterion is not required to be visible, Level AA is visible and less strict. It is considered accessible by ATs on all mobile devices and desktop machines.

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