Evaluación sobre la accesibilidad y usabilidad de los recursos informativos en la web para los usuarios ciegos

Most information resources on the web are inaccessible to blind users. The results of a research that has evaluated the accessibility of a wide sample of information resources on the web grouped into fifteen different categories are presented. The methodology used combines the application of a semi-automated instrument (TAW) that reviews the WAI accessibility guidelines formulated by the W3C with a test of users who interacted on a selection of resources. The results of the research indicate important deficiencies in their access and usability. Most categories are more than 80% totally inaccessible for blind users because they have priority level 1 errors. In general, the level of specialization of resources entails worse levels of accessibility and usability. The barriers to access to information have a direct impact on the participation of people with disabilities in the knowledge society. The resources that are most accessible correspond in general to pages linked to public institutions in front of the generalist portals and job seekers that are the most inaccessible. The design errors detected in the study with greater frequency of occurrence and incidence in the level of accessibility are: the absence of alternative texts to various graphic elements, inclusion of untitled frames, automatic updating of the pages, absolute units in bookmarks and sheets of style and presence of marquee element