EVALUATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF ARABIC WEB ACCESSIBILITY THROUGH THE USE OF ARABIC ACCESSIBILITY TESTING TOOL

Abstract

This dissertation study aims to explore the challenges of Arabic web accessibility in the Arabian Gulf region. An in-depth literature review was conducted to understand the past and current Web accessibility findings and studies worldwide, focusing on Arabic Web accessibility and online services offered by the Arabian Gulf nations. An assessment of high-ranked websites was conducted to better understand the quality of Web accessibility in the Arabian region. The results show that Arabic web accessibility must be considered for improvement. In this study, an Arabic Accessibility tool was developed as one of the potential solutions for improving Arabic Web accessibility. Thirty-one Arab Web developer participants evaluated the tool and provided insights to answer the research questions. Nine Web development participants used the tool to enhance their websites and solve the accessibility problems found in the sites. The study provides evidence for the importance of having a language-specific web accessibility tool. As demonstrated in this research, the Arabic tool improved the selected Arabic websites, provided user satisfaction, and raised web developers’ awareness of Web accessibility.