Paul Walsh is principal director of Segala M Test
Usability and accessibility are two similar terms in the world of technology. However, they don't mean the same thing when it comes to Web site design. The distinction is important because there are serious financial, brand loyalty and legal implications to consider.
Usability is a word that describes the user-friendliness of anything, from a paring knife to a lawnmower. The usability of anything will determine the extent to which it's used effectively and successfully.
;A user-friendly site doesn't mean it will be accessible to disabled people or those using handheld devices
Applied to Web sites, it means the ease with which visitors can access navigate and generally make use of a site and its content.
Research shows that users will persevere with a challenging site if the content is relevant ad strong, but if they're made to work too hard or have to search for too long to find the information they need they're less inclined to return.
This is why usability testing of any Web site is crucial. Testing is primarily focused on helping organisations to design and validate their site based on a customer profile
, while adopting best-practice Web design principles such as logically constructed information architecture, ease of navigation, readability, consistency, load time, and look and feel. When designing Web sites for a specific user type, it's possible to inadvertently discriminate against another, so this working practice needs to be carefully considered by usability companies.
Accessibility is a word applied to Web site design guidelines, such as those created by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). By adhering to guidelines, it enables people with disabilities to access and use Web sites with special tools, such as text readers. Such sites are also accessible to visitors with impaired physical capabilities, such as deafness and dyslexia. The Internet has provided tremendous opportunities for people with disabilities to access information, purchase products and interact with others in a way that was preciously impossible,. However, many common and cutting-edge
technologies actually reduce the degree to which people with disabilities can access information on the Web through assistive technologies.
There are some people in the industry who believe that, because usability testing considers all types of disabilities, it automatically addresses the issue of accessibility. The fact is that usability and accessibility should amount to the same thing and fall under one methodology for design and development purposes. However, this is some way of. It will take another 12 to 18 months for the industry to recognise that Web sites should be built to allow access to users who use assistive technologies, slow connection, handheld devices such as mobile phones and PDAs, old browsers, and so on.
It's important to note that a user-friendly site doesn't necessarily mean it will be accessible to disabled people or those using hand-held devices or slow Internet connections. Therefore it's advisable to design a site with accessibility in mind forum the start, as it will cover all usability concepts when coupled with common sense creative design.
Usability
companies that have undoubtedly invested heavily in this terminology must start to bring everything under one methodology umbrella and not bolt accessibility on the side as an extra service. This will provide the clients with the complete packaged solution, rather than trying to work out for the selves the differences between the two and having to pay extra
; for an accessible Web site.