Gartner estimates 17% of the population has a disability that impairs Internet use. That’s significant because everyone relies on the Internet for business and personal activities.¹
People with disabilities are disadvantaged because they do not have equal access to websites and require special accommodations.
This is the number of Users Who Experience Difficulties Accessing Websites
¹ Source: Gartner Guide for Digital Accessibility, published February 15, 2023.
Source¹: Gartner Guide for Digital Accessibility, published February 15, 2023.
The main categories of disabilities go beyond visual impairment and include cognitive, motor skills and hearing.
In 2018, the World Wide Web Consortium developed and approved standards to make websites work for disabled people. But after five years, only a small percentage have adopted those standards, leaving the disabled behind.
WebAIM: Institute for Disability Research Policy and Practice – Utah State University 2019 – 2023
Majestic Million: MajesticSEO
Alexa Top Sites (Amazon AWS)
Open PageRank Initiative (DomCop)
WCAG 2.1 (W3C – World Wide Web Consortium)
Legislation has been established in Canada, the European Union, and through recent guidance from the United States Department of Justice regarding the ADA. Gartner expects other governments and municipalities in major economic areas to adopt similar legislation and create enforcement bodies with the power to issue fines for violations.
People with disabilities are often excluded from participating in the digital world. Hear directly from a blind user about his experience with both accessible and non-accessible websites.
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