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Two cultures? The disconnect between the web standards movement and research-based web design guidelines for older people

2006; International Society for Gerontechnology; Volume: 5; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4017/gt.2006.05.02.007.00

1569-111X

David Sloan,

Digital Accessibility for Disabilities

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), are increasingly being adopted as a core aspect of the Web Standards movement, a cultural revolution in web design that among other things seeks to produce Web content that can be accessed regardless of a user’s browsing technology or any disability they may have. Yet, according to a survey conducted by the author, this movement has not similarly embraced evidence-based guidelines that encapsulate necessary steps to overcome additional factors that limit older people’s ability to use Web sites. This paper discusses some of the reasons why such a gap exists, and what can be done by gerontechnology researchers and Web developers alike to address it.