e-Government Unit says 97% of websites fail the disabled

Telecomworldwire, Nov 30, 2005

TELECOMWORLDWIRE-30 November 2005-e-Government Unit says 97% of websites fail the disabled(C)1994-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com

A report from the e-Government Unit of the Cabinet Office in the UK has revealed that 97% of official European government websites fail to meet basic accessibility standards for the 39m people in Europe who have a form of disability.

The study surveyed 436 public service websites across many countries in Europe, using software to check web pages were easy to navigate and met good practice guidelines, with participation from groups such as the RNID and RNIB. Although the Internet has been portrayed as a way for disabled people to more easily access information and services, the study found that only 3% of the sites passed basic World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) accessibility tests.

Of the sites reviewed, 10% passed automatic tests but failed at least one manual check, while 17% failed at least one automatic check and 70% failed automatic checks consistently. Some sites failed to use adequate descriptive tags to label images and assist software readers, while others failed to label frames adequately or use valid website code for page creation.

The e-Government report said there is no link between a site meeting accessibility standards and the sophistication of online services offered and claimed legal penalties will help ensure sites are made more accessible. It suggested websites be tested for compliance more often and recommended targets be given to government websites to meet basic W3C standards by 2010.

((Comments on this story may be sent to tww.feedback@m2.com))