Introduction
Universal website design is information that is accessible and usable by users without customising or having a design that addresses specific needs or disability (Government of Ireland, 2005, p. 46).
In order to explain and understand the universal design for websites, this case study examines the website of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). HIQA is a statutory body that “promotes improvement in the quality and safety of health and social care services, assesses health technologies, and advises on the use of health information” (HIQA, 2016a). HIQA’s accessibility web page is designed with version one of “the W3C WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines” (HIQA, 2016b) which are now supplemented by Web Content …show more content…
A more sophisticated breadcrumbs navigational feature would also benefit the user as it would give a clearer focal point of where the information is on the website while also providing “navigation to higher levels” (Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, 2016b). The search box should be larger than its current size, labelled as a search feature, have elements of predictive search (based on site contents), and be in a more defined colour. In addition, the primary menu bar should reflect all sections of HIQA’s website.
Principle Two: Flexibility in Use
Under the ‘flexibility in use’ principle, website designs should take into account that users will access the contents of websites on the various electronic browser. Therefore, websites should provide users with feature choices specifically allowing users to change certain structural elements on the web page (Usability First, 2015). Additional, design of websites should incorporate adaptability for users that access the web page by “a wide variety of devices” (CANnect, 2016).
The colour scheme of the website is not changeable and this makes the usability of colour inversion difficult for visually impaired users. (See Figure …show more content…
Principle four has been achieved because HIQA’s website has adequate line spacing. The majority of videos, available on the HIQA website, have captions that provide the user “the option to read the dialogue in addition to listening” (Lembree, 2011, p.1) (see Figure G2).
Recommendations A review of older videos uploaded to HIQA’s website is recommended as some of the captions have been automatically inputted by YouTube, which has misconstrued some of the dialogue, especially the dialogue that is in Irish (see Figure G1). YouTube has automatically translated the Irish speech into incorrect close captions subtitles. This review of the old videos is necessary in order to maintain close caption consistency.
Principle Five: Tolerance of
Universal website design is information that is accessible and usable by users without customising or having a design that addresses specific needs or disability (Government of Ireland, 2005, p. 46).
In order to explain and understand the universal design for websites, this case study examines the website of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). HIQA is a statutory body that “promotes improvement in the quality and safety of health and social care services, assesses health technologies, and advises on the use of health information” (HIQA, 2016a). HIQA’s accessibility web page is designed with version one of “the W3C WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines” (HIQA, 2016b) which are now supplemented by Web Content …show more content…
A more sophisticated breadcrumbs navigational feature would also benefit the user as it would give a clearer focal point of where the information is on the website while also providing “navigation to higher levels” (Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, 2016b). The search box should be larger than its current size, labelled as a search feature, have elements of predictive search (based on site contents), and be in a more defined colour. In addition, the primary menu bar should reflect all sections of HIQA’s website.
Principle Two: Flexibility in Use
Under the ‘flexibility in use’ principle, website designs should take into account that users will access the contents of websites on the various electronic browser. Therefore, websites should provide users with feature choices specifically allowing users to change certain structural elements on the web page (Usability First, 2015). Additional, design of websites should incorporate adaptability for users that access the web page by “a wide variety of devices” (CANnect, 2016).
The colour scheme of the website is not changeable and this makes the usability of colour inversion difficult for visually impaired users. (See Figure …show more content…
Principle four has been achieved because HIQA’s website has adequate line spacing. The majority of videos, available on the HIQA website, have captions that provide the user “the option to read the dialogue in addition to listening” (Lembree, 2011, p.1) (see Figure G2).
Recommendations A review of older videos uploaded to HIQA’s website is recommended as some of the captions have been automatically inputted by YouTube, which has misconstrued some of the dialogue, especially the dialogue that is in Irish (see Figure G1). YouTube has automatically translated the Irish speech into incorrect close captions subtitles. This review of the old videos is necessary in order to maintain close caption consistency.
Principle Five: Tolerance of