A Suggested Interactive Website to Help Non-professional Web Developers or Designers Implement WCAG 2.1 Standards

Abstract

Web accessibility means equal access to website content regardless of users’ skill limitations or disabilities. Using websites has become a necessity to access governmental, educational, commerce or health resources on the Internet. To achieve web accessibility, web developers or designers are advised to follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). However, some web developers or designers do not follow the standards outlined in the WCAG for a variety of reasons, including being unaware of these accessibility guidelines, not being professional web developers or web designers, and the amount of time required to apply these guidelines. Failure to follow the WCAG for these reasons might lead to an increase in the number of inaccessible websites. This report introduces an interactive website that helps non-professional web developers and web designers to understand and implement WCAG 2.1 standards the development of a website. Three steps were used to identify the WCAG 2.1 standards to be included in the first edition of the proposed website: 1) searching for the most common accessibility issues in recent articles, 2) conducting a survey of web developers and designers and 3) interviewing an accessibility expert. Subsequently, three Level A WCAG success criteria were presented by the website, namely 1.1.1 Non-text Content, 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks and 3.1.1 Language of Page. The website developed is interactive and user-friendly and contains a brief explanation of the benefits of applying these success criteria, thereby facilitating the understanding and implementation of these guidelines in a responsive and easy-to-follow format.