From The Ergoweb® Learning Center

UN Study: Many Websites are Failing Disabled People

Three out of 100 leading websites for travel, finance, media, government and retail shopping around the world are failing to meet the needs of disabled people, according the United Nations. The criticism refers to the ergonomics of the websites because accessibility and usability contribute to the failing grade.

The report echoes the theme of The International Day of Disabled Persons on December 3. The “E-accessibility” theme is a UN reminder that the Internet should be available to everyone.

The website study was commissioned by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and conducted by the British firm Nomensa on websites from 20 countries.

Under the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which the survey used, websites must allow users to easily adjust text size, navigate through the site, differentiate between colors, allow keyboard shortcuts and offer an alternative to JavaScript, which prevents many people from accessing key information.

Thomas Schindlmayr, a policy specialist with DESA, said the survey