{"id":22038,"date":"2018-03-30T10:09:22","date_gmt":"2018-03-30T09:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/?p=22038"},"modified":"2018-06-28T13:23:22","modified_gmt":"2018-06-28T12:23:22","slug":"4-in-10-uk-council-websites-inaccessible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/4-in-10-uk-council-websites-inaccessible\/","title":{"rendered":"4 in 10 UK council websites are inaccessible"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A new survey has found that 40% of councils are failing to make\u00a0their sites fully usable for millions of people with sight loss, physical disabilities, cognitive impairment, dyslexia and more.<\/p>\n

Testing of 270 UK council websites on behalf of the Society for IT Practitioners in the Public Sector (SOCITM) found that fewer passed basic accessibility criteria in 2016-17 (60%) compared with 2015-16 (65%).\u00a0Many sites were\u00a0impossible to navigate for large\u00a0numbers of the UK’s 13.3 million\u00a0disabled\u00a0people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The annual survey has so far only run its first stage of testing, which just reviews home pages using 14 testing criteria. Further test results will come this March\/ April.<\/p>\n

What areas of accessibility are council letting the public down on?<\/h4>\n

SOCITM’s\u00a0Better Connected survey<\/a>\u00a0found three key areas of concern.<\/p>\n

1. Visible focus indicators<\/h4>\n

86% of those tested failed primarily because their home page lacked \u2018visible focus indicator\u2019. Visible focus indicators show the user where on the screen the cursor\/ arrow\/ focus is. Ie, whether it is\u00a0hovering over a button option, a photo or other page element. Without the focus, it\u2019s very hard to navigate a page and select options to move to other pages.<\/p>\n

2. Skip links<\/h4>\n

71% did not have skip links.\u00a0Skip links are mainly used by screenreader users for bypassing or ‘skipping’ over repetitive web page content. Without them, a screenreader will often read every single\u00a0part of a page, making the user experience very long and laborious.<\/p>\n

3. Meaningful links<\/h4>\n

64% Lacked \u2018meaningful links in context\u2019. This affects blind users who use screenreading software and need links to establish the context of some words \u2013 which links such as \u2018click here\u2019 or \u2018more\u2019 do not offer.<\/p>\n

Other issues<\/h4>\n

A third of the sites\u00a0were marked down because of movement on the screen – such as rolling images or words. This can affect\u00a0people with\u00a0a cognitive-impairment such as\u00a0dyslexia, as well as people with\u00a0low vision, and blind people using screenreading software.<\/p>\n

If there is movement of any kind on the page that lasts for more than five seconds then any site user\u00a0should be able to apply a pause, including people using a keyboard and mouse or mouse to navigate the site.<\/p>\n

A third of sites were marked down for lack of good heading structure (63%), no appropriate text alternatives for images (39%), and insufficient colour contrast (49%).<\/p>\n

Upcoming EU Directive says\u00a0inaccessible websites need to be fixed<\/h4>\n

In a press release SOCITM said:<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncils responsible for the 40% of local authority gov.uk websites found not to be accessible \u2026will need to fix their sites ahead of a new EU directive coming into force from September 2019. Some sites may already be in breach of the Equality Act 2010. The accessibility of websites to people with disabilities, who account for around 15% of the UK population, is extremely important.<\/p>\n

“It should be built-in to the design of websites and the third party systems they use (ie, software that manages services that people access via council websites, like library or planning or council tax management systems). All forms and documents presented via websites should be accessible too, and videos, imagery and elements of the website that move, should be presented in ways that accommodate disabled people.”<\/p>\n

\n

This article was originally published here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"More<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new survey has found that 40% of councils are failing to make\u00a0their sites fully usable for millions of people with sight loss, physical disabilities, cognitive impairment, dyslexia and more. 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