Improving Web Accessibility for Visually Impaired with Open Source Browser Extension

Sittiporn Auchariyabut, Yachai Limpiyakorn
2014 International Journal of Software Engineering and Its Applications  
Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the web. Web accessibility also benefits others including older people, and people in the rural areas. Currently, most websites have accessibility barriers that make it difficult or impossible for many people with disabilities to use the web. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) was launched as an effort to improve the accessibility of the World Wide Web for people with disabilities. One of the roles of WAI is to develop guidelines
more » ... and techniques that describe accessibility solutions for web software and web developers. A website optimized for accessibility will benefit everyone and worth investment as it gains a distinct competitive advantage and adds real value to the global community. This article presents the implementation of Firefox browser extension to adjust the HTML pages of existing web applications based on the recommendation of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. The HTML adjustment is processed with two major steps, starting with the evaluation of HTML tags against the checkpoints defined as XPath 2.0 rules. In case the HTML element is nonconformance to WCAG 2.0, its location will then be returned to JavaScript for adjustments using the fixing rule satisfying the WCAG 2.0 success criteria. Examples of web accessibility adjustments are demonstrated. The browser extension is assessed compared to a web accessibility evaluation tool, for the correctness of identifying accessibility barriers.
doi:10.14257/ijseia.2014.8.1.39 fatcat:ksnh4htnibbfjldk5tq4duv564