Implementing Recommendations From Web Accessibility Guidelines: A Comparative Study of Nondisabled Users and Users...

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Web Accessibility
• Usability Engineering

Background:

• Web accessibility guidelines are standard for aiding users with disabilities.
• The impact of these guidelines on non-disabled users remains under-examined.
• Understanding effects on both groups clarifies accessibility implementation benefits and drawbacks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the differential effects of Web accessibility guidelines on users with and without visual impairments.
• To assess how varying levels of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) conformance influence user performance and subjective experience.

Main Methods:

• Two matched samples (55 visually impaired, 55 non-impaired) tested a website.
• Participants were randomly assigned to websites with very low, low, or high WCAG 2.0 conformance.
• Measured task completion rates, completion times, perceived usability, affect, aesthetics, workload, and user experience.

Main Results:

• Increased conformance to Web accessibility guidelines enhanced performance for both user groups.
• Higher accessibility led to more positive user ratings, including perceived usability and aesthetics.
• No significant interaction was found between user group and accessibility level.

Conclusions:

• Higher conformance to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) offers advantages to both visually impaired and non-disabled users.
• Accessibility best practices can be implemented with confidence, as they do not negatively impact non-disabled users.