Development of Web / Apps Accessibility
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What are Accessible Websites/Applications?
Websites/mobile applications that are designed to be accessible and usable by all people, including those with disabilities. Web-users of the following conditions are what web accessibility usually caters for according to the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C): visual disabilities, dyslexia, hearing impairments, physical disabilities, speech disabilities, cognitive and neurological disabilities, multiple disabilities, aging-related conditions.
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) was founded by Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the Internet, in 1994 and consists of people from industries, disability organizations, governments, and research labs from around the world. As an Internet creator, Tim Berners-Lee strongly believes that the internet is a resource that can be accessed and utilized by everyone. No one should be stopped from using it for any reason. Therefore, the setup of W3C is to advocate web accessibility and create international standards, namely the Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG), a reference guide for web page developers all over the world.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is a single shared standard for web content accessibility developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The guidelines explain how to make web content, including content used on mobile devices more accessible to persons with disabilities. Since 1999, the HKSAR Government has incorporated web accessibility requirements in the Guidelines on Dissemination of Information through Government Websites. From 2013 onwards, all government websites are required to validate W3C WCAG 2.0-AA conformance, while enterprises and organizations are also encouraged to make their websites conform to WCAG standard as far as practicable to further enhance the overall level of accessibility.
In 2018, the World Wide Web Consortium released the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, adding 17 new success criteria. The government advises organizations to adopt the WCAG 2.1, where appropriate when developing websites or updating website content to enhance the accessibility of websites.
Situation and Recent Development in Hong Kong
The HKSAR Government has been proactively promoting the concept of web accessibility as early as 1999 and formulated the Guidelines on Dissemination of Information through Government Websites in the same year, which was then issued to all bureaus and departments requiring them to make relevant websites to be accessible. From 2013 onwards, all government websites are required to conform strictly to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium.
In order to cope with the relevant work, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer has produced a lot of supplementary materials for the reference of website developers and administrators, including the Web Accessibility Handbook, Technical Notes on Website Development and Maintenance, Illustration on Web Accessibility Success Criteria and more. Since 2013, jointly with the Equal Opportunities Commission, the “Web Accessibility Recognition Scheme” was held to encourage and recognize the efforts of enterprises and organizations to adopt accessible design in their websites.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns & closure of places and networks has brought the whole world to become more virtualized, which also accentuated the importance of accessibility. According to the survey on web accessibility adoption level the Asia Pacific region published by the Hong Kong Blind Union in 2020, the web and mobile apps accessibility for Hong Kong ranked the third among 12 countries and cities in the Asia Pacific region however, improvements are still needed in many aspects. Another study* shows that more than 90% of government websites and apps in Hong Kong have fully adopted accessible design, while only some 30% of SME (small-to-medium enterprises) websites or apps have a full or partial accessible design.