Evaluating Web resources for disability access

A majority of Web based information, facilities and services is unnecessarily inaccessible to people with certain disabilities, largely due to a lack of awareness of accessibility issues on the part of developers. This paper argues that currently available accessibility evaluation methods are unsatisfactory in the scope and presentation of their results. Consequently, there is a need for a meta-method which utilises the strengths of current methods, but which also bridges their weaknesses. The paper discusses a comprehensive, yet usable methodology for evaluating web sites for accessibility. Using this methodology, a semi-automatic accessibility evaluation tool is proposed, which will guide evaluators through the auditing process and produce a set of tailored recommendations for making the subject site accessible.