Accessible Websites for Everyone — A Case of UAE Universities Websites

Abstract

Web Accessibility means that websites, tools, and all technologies are designed in an accessible way for all people regardless of any disability and other physical limitations. The number of disabled people is far greater than anyone could estimate. The importance of online education cannot be ignored as it can provide access to a range of educational material available over the internet. There is now much discussion about the issue of E-accessibility when it comes the to the design and development of the website and it is becoming a legal requirement for governmental and public websites to conform with the standards defined by the world wide web consortium (W3C), an organization which provides guidelines to maintain World Wide Web and its standards. Research proved that there is very little importance given to the issue of E-accessibility for people with special needs. The aim of this research is therefore to measure the accessibility level of the educational websites in the UAE against the standard defined by W3C and to form recommendations on how to improve and achieve the highest level of e-accessibility for students with special needs learners as it provides them easy access to a wider range of educational material. Enabling a website to meet the needs and requirements of special students is a concern for all educational institutions.