Product category:
Web design and development
News Release from: Nomensa | Subject: music retailers' web accessibility
Edited by the Marketingservicestalk Editorial
Team on 27 June 2008
Online music retailers fail on
accessibility
Accessibility and usability expert Nomensa has carried out detailed research to evaluate accessibility for the top six music retail websites.
The research evaluated accessibility for Play.com, Amazon.co.uk, Tesco Entertainment, WHSmith, CDWow and HMV.co.uk The most astonishing findings of the report reveal that of all the pages tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 1.0), only one page met Single-A compliance
This article was originally published on Marketingservicestalk on 26 Mar 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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This is particularly important as recent statistics from internet service providers reveal that more than one in five internet users prefers to purchase music online.
Simon Norris, Managing Director, Nomensa, commented: "Our aim when conducting research is not to 'name and shame': our focus is always to promote positive and best-practice recommendations and solutions".
Nomensa has been manually testing websites since 2001 and has suggested that testing at a single point in time does not always present the full picture.
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Websites change design and technology frequently.
However, if checks are competed at two separate points in time, confidence can be assured in the results being both an accurate and realistic reflection of a site's current level of web accessibility.
The accessibility report goes on to explain that the majority of the e-tailers' pages were only one or two issues away from reaching Single-A compliance.
The achievement of Single-A compliance would represent a significant step forward in the quality of each of the tested websites and could be achieved through minor changes.
However, achieving Double-A accessibility does require a more strategic approach.
The importance of accessibility being included from the outset is strengthened in recent statistics, which estimate that around 10 million people in the UK have a disability.
However, the report explains, accessibility should not only be considered from a disabilities perspective, accessible websites offer: improved sales, increased search engine visibility, strong brand reputation, faster downloading of web pages, strong customer loyalty and priceless word-of-mouth recommendations.
Leonie Watson, head of accessibility, Nomensa, commented: "The irony is that accessible websites are easier for everyone to use, not just people with disabilities".
Norris added: "We understand that web accessibility is a journey and not a destination and hope that through our research organisations will better understand the tremendous commercial benefits that emerge from providing a more accessible and usable website experience".
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