Are all users ‘happy’ with your website?

Andrew Arch@amja

Which of these users will be happy?

Which of these users will be happy?

Young man using head wand to type

Person using sign language over a video link

Older man sitting at desk with 6 screens

Hand holding mobile phone

Elderly women typing on laptop

Young women feeling refreshable baille (laptop screen is dark)

Child using mouse at computer

Do you know you users?

In Australia our population is ageing:◦ 14% > 65 yrs (2012)

◦ 19% > 65 yrs (2031)

Do you know your users?

Disability in Australia: ◦ 18.5% of population

◦ 50% of people > 65 yrs

Are they online? ~50% of older people are online

Do you care?

In 2012 seniors held over 40% of the nation's assets. Couples between 50 and 70 have the highest median net worth: $900,000!

Amazon does – in 2013 they launched a sub-site dedicated to people over 50

Coles does – after court case Smashing Mag thinks we all should in 2015

Older people and people with disabilities care!There are many reasons why all Australians need to be connected, and those reasons grow in number and importance each year.

• The internet … presents a significant opportunity for increasing the wellbeing of all of us as we age. We must ensure that older Australians don’t miss out on these benefits. • Susan Ryan, Ruby Hutchison Memorial Lecture, March 2012

• With disability, the web becomes more vital and at the same time more difficult to access.• Graeme Innes, July 2012

Unprecedented opportunities for:

Social interaction and communication Access to information Access to eCommerce Access to government services and civic

participation Training and learning opportunities Employment, research, and access to

workplace applications

CHANGING ABILITIES

How are people affected? Many disabilities impact access to print and the web:

◦ Visual (e.g. colour blindness, low vision, blindness)◦ Auditory (e.g. hearing loss, deafness) ◦ Physical (e.g. limited motor skills)◦ Cognitive and neurological (e.g. difficulty reading,

concentrating, understanding, remembering)◦ Users may have multiple disabilities (e.g. a deaf-blind user,

older people)

Plus situational requirements …

Ageing and hearing loss

Impact:◦ Audio can be difficult

to discern

◦ Higher pitch sounds can be missed

Prevalence: ◦ 47% of people

61 to 80 years

◦ 93% of people 81+ years

Ageing and vision decline

Impact: ◦ Decreasing ability to

focus on near tasks

◦ Changing colour perception and sensitivity

◦ Decreasing contrast sensitivity

Prevalence:(significant vision loss) ◦ 16% of people

65 - 74 years

◦ 19% of people 75 – 84 years

◦ 46% of people 85+ years

Ageing and physical decline Impact:

(Motor skill decline can result from many conditions including arthritis and Parkinson's Disease)◦ Difficulty using mouse or

keyboard ◦ Difficult to click small areas ◦ Strain from non-ergonomic

tasks

Prevalence:(Conditions commonly reported) ◦ Arthritis

Affects at least 50% of people over 65

◦ Essential tremor Affects up to 20% of people

over 65◦ Parkinson's Disease

Affects approx. 4% of people over 85

Ageing and cognitive decline Impact:

Navigation, comprehension, and task completion can be affected by: ◦ Short term memory issues◦ Difficulty with concentration ◦ Distraction from movement

or irrelevant material ◦ Difficulty coping with

information overload

Prevalence: (Conditions commonly reported)◦ Dementia:

1.4% of people 65-69 yrs 24% of people 85+ yrs

◦ Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is more common: Around 20% of people over

70 years are estimated to experience MCI

What can you do?

Tackle usability?

http://www.semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000029.php

Apply some standards?

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0

• Perceivable• Operable• Understandable• Robust

Accessible web content

Requirements include: Readable and understandable text Identifiable and understandable links Clear and identifiable headings Good orientation and navigation

WCAG 2.0 addresses these

Usability improvementsUsability improvements especially help older people and people with disabilities:• Page layout and design - provide consistency and avoid

overload • Text presentation - use left justification, increase line spacing

& margins, avoid italics and underlining• Forms - avoid complexity and provide clear guidance • Menus and links - provide predictability and consistency

WCAG 2.0 also addresses these

Websites for Older People:How WCAG 2.0 AppliesPerceivable• Text size• Text style and text layout• Color and contrast• Multimedia• Text-to-speech (speech synthesis)• CAPTCHA

Operable• Links• Navigation and location• Mouse use• Keyboard use and tabbing• Distractions• Sufficient time

Understandable• Page organization• Understandable language• Consistent navigation and labeling• Pop-ups and new-windows• Page refresh and updates• Instructions and input assistance• Error prevention and recovery for forms

Robust• Older equipment/software

http://www.w3.org/WAI/older-users/developing

And for non-web applications?

Guidance on Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies

Mobile Accessibility: How WCAG 2.0 and Other W3C/WAI Guidelines Apply to Mobile (Draft)

Questions?

Time to make more people happy!