Algorithm for validating financial and economic web pages in terms of web content accessibility guidelines

PURPOSE: The purpose of the research is to present the algorithm for the validation of economic and financial websites, allowing to check the degree of accessibility of these websites in terms of WCAG standards with particular attention to people with disabilities and the elderly. The developed method is automatic and allows to obtain both a general score for the analyzed page and a detailed list of analyzed aspects.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A two-step needs analysis process was conducted to develop the algorithm. In the first phase, the literature was analyzed for selected aspects of accessibility particularly relevant to people with disabilities and the elderly.FINDINGS: The results made it possible to determine the general directions of the algorithm, which are particularly important for the mentioned users. The next stage was the analysis of selected aspects of the websites in the context of their relation to the groups of recipients and the possibilities of analysis by the algorithm. The result of this stage is a set of 9 aspects, within which the individual elements checked by the algorithm were dissected.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The results obtained indicate that the evaluation made by the algorithm coincides with the evaluation of the accessibility of the pages made by the experts. The algorithm allows us to quickly analyze web pages for accessibility and to detect general trends that characterize a given theme of pages. It allows to make general recommendations for improvements and good practices for building accessible pages according to WCAG recommendations.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The algorithm created is a proprietary project that allows the automatic evaluation of websites. It is based on 9 aspects that make up websites, with the possibility of expanding to more. It can be used to supplement expert knowledge or be used as a general tool to inform about the state of accessibility for a given page.The work of Eryka Probierz was supported in part by the European Union through the European Social Fund as a scholarship under Grant POWR.03.02.00-00- I029, and in part by the Silesian University of Technology (SUT) through the subsidy for maintaining and developing the research potential grant in 2021 for young researchers in analysis (02/060/BKM21/0027).peer-reviewe

How accessibility guidelines are used in Spanish World Heritage Websites: an exploratory study

This paper presents an exploratory study on the accessibility of Spanish World Heritage website homepages in the Spanish language. The study sample comprised 78 homepages from the institutional websites of the 47 cultural, natural and mixed assets considered as World Cultural Heritage by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). These homepages have been analysed using online accessibility validator tools, following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 recommendation for the different levels of priority. The compiled data were employed in a quantitative study on adherence to WCAG guidelines. Furthermore, the types of errors made using the perspective of accessibility and usability were identified, and the application rate was calculated for these accessibility guidelines according to the type of entity managed by the websites and pages. The results show that more than 25% of the cases analysed had 10 accessibility errors or fewer. Moreover, it was only necessary to correct one or two types of errors in close to 40% of them. The paper draws the conclusion that, despite technological and legislative advances that make public entity websites accessible, there is still much to do before complete web accessibility and usability at AA and AAA level can be achieved. Identifying accessibility problems on institutional websites constitutes the first step towards creating web content that is easy to access and manage for users with disabilities. In this regard, this study contributes to improving web content according to objective guidelines such as those encouraged by the WCAG 2.0. This article provides information on how accessibility and usability guidelines are implemented by institutional websites for Cultural Heritage deemed especially important. This is an issue with significant implications for users and for which, however, there is a lack of prior studies. As a result, the value and originality of this paper can be considered evident