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WAI, seniors and Web Accessibility

As part of the 18th International Conference of the W3C , the organization WAI , head of standards for web accessibility worldwide, held its first seminar on seniors and the Web entitled Web Accessibility for Older Users: Are We There Yet? ? (Madrid, 20 and April 21, 2009). Ideos attended the 2 day seminar to better understand where was the research on this subject ( some of the documents presented are available online ).

The first observation is that many countries (South Africa, Canada, China, Spain, USA, Greece, Italy, Japan, Portugal, United Kingdom ...) focus on "Seniors and the Web" and presented the results of their research (note: no French research has been presented to the seminar). For its part, the agency WAI has made a priority by launching the project since April 2007 WAI-AGE funded by the European Commission. This research project has as objective to collect all the existing studies on the elderly and the Web to analyze their needs and ascertain how the recommendations for web accessibility are beneficial or whether they should develop to term additional recommendations (the publications of the WAI-AGE project are available online).

At this stage of research on seniors and the Web, it is clear that the seminar three areas of study are preferred to answer the question "should be created specific websites for seniors or not?"

1. qualify a senior not only by age but also by their disabilities and the type of navigation,
2. conduct usability tests with groups of senior citizens to check the usability of a website and not just its accessibility "technical"
3. check the adequacy or otherwise of WCAG (international recommendations for web accessibility) to ensure the accessibility of a website to a senior.

Based on information gathered during the seminar and from the analysis of resources on "Seniors and the Web" from Portal on digital access , this article presents the actual responses to these three areas of study.

One certainty, however: firstly the increase of number of elderly in most countries, the question of their ability to use technological tools will inescapably arise. However, while most countries have seized the issue of Web accessibility for the disabled (but not always set up of facilities and sufficient), the establishment of digital policy for the elderly as in public and private sectors is still in its infancy.

A senior, what?

A definition by age and environment

Dictionaries provide definitions vary from one senior. It may be a "senior citizen or retiree" or a "person of more than 50 years."

For the INSEE SNCF, a senior is anyone over 60 years while a view of retirement, he is a person over 65 years.

As the business world, a senior is a person over 50 years. But on this subject, the situation will change in companies in France since 1 January 2010 (see paragraph: From 2010, compulsory employment of seniors over 50 years ) ...

Figures and statistics in the world from 2005 to 2050

The forecast for the evolution of the population of seniors over 64 in the European Union (27 countries) give a percentage of over 20% in 2020 (103 million) and 29% in 2050 (148.5 million ) for a percentage of just over 17% in 2008 (84.6 million).

We find these figures for France. Indeed, forecasts the population in France indicated that seniors over 65 will rise from 16.4% of the population in 2005 (10 million) in 2020 to 20.1% (13 million) and more 26% in 2050 (over 18 million).

The figures are even more impressive in Japan. Indeed, the predictions of elderly population in Japan show that seniors over 65 will increase from 20% of the population in 2005 (25.5 million) to 27% in 2015 (34 million) and more than 40% 2055 (36000000).

One conclusion: With increasing life expectancy and declining as a result of retirement, millions of older persons will continue to be active in the working world in years to come.

Note: All figures about older people are consulted in the category "Seniors' Portal ideos on digital access .

From 2010, compulsory employment of seniors over 50 years

Law and Order in favor of older employees

From 1 January 2010, the Article L138-24 (Agreements for the employment of older workers) of Act No. 2008-1330 of 17 December 2008 financing of social security for 2009 provides:

Businesses, including public institutions referred to in Articles L. 2211-1 and L. 2233-1 of the Labour Code employing at least fifty employees or belonging to a group within the meaning of Article L. 2331-1 of the Code whose workforce includes at least fifty employees are subject to a penalty payable by the employer when they are not covered by an agreement or plan of action on workers' employment older.

The amount of the penalty is set at 1% of wages or earnings, according to the first paragraph of Article L. 242-1 of this Code and the second paragraph of Article L. 741-10 of the Rural Code, paid to employees or treated during the periods in which the company is not covered by the agreement or plan of action mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

The proceeds of this penalty is assigned to the National Insurance retirement of employees.

The Decree No. 2009-560 of 20 May 2009 on the content and validation of agreements and action plans for employment of older workers also defines what the elderly are covered by Article L138-24 plans of actions to be implemented by companies. The main points of the decree are:

The target for job retention [...] For employees aged 55 and over. The target recruitment mentioned in the same paragraph for employees aged 50 and over.

The areas mentioned [...] are:

• Recruitment of older workers in the company;
• Anticipating the development of professional careers;
• Improved working conditions and preventing situations of hardship;
• Development of skills and qualifications and access to training;
• Planning for career and transition between work and retirement;
• Transmission of knowledge and skills development and mentoring.

The penalty referred to in Article L. 138-24 is payable for each full month during which the company is not covered by the agreement or plan of action in the first paragraph of that article.

Summary of the law and therefore suitable for digital and seniors

From 1 January 2010, agencies in France (public and private) of more than 50 employees will have to establish an agreement for:

• the continued employment of workers aged 55 and over,
• and recruitment of employees aged 50 and over.

One of the actions to be implemented in the framework of this agreement is the improvement of working conditions and preventing situations of hardship.

Therefore, given the fact that the employment rate for persons aged 55-64 years currently low in France (38.1% in 2006 compared to the European rate of 43.5%), it is likely that the conditions digital (computers, mobile devices, Web sites and services, Intranet ...) should be improved to meet the needs of senior citizens. The question of "Senior Web" for the 50/65 year bracket arises primarily for businesses.

Note: All laws are older people consulted in the category "laws" Portal ideos on digital access .

Seniors and the Web: What problems and what solutions?

List of main problems

Based on information gathered during the seminar, here is a list of the main problems faced by seniors on the Web:

• Fear of technology: the use of computer navigation in Web sites, or clicking on a link or a form button can cause anxiety a senior uninformed on how technology.
• The non-recognition of age by the elderly themselves and thus their new disabilities (low vision, difficulty hearing, neurological and cognitive problems, motor problems ...). Besides, senior citizens refuse to be considered disabled.
• Low use of the aid proposed by the Mariners in general, seniors do not use the aid provided in most web browsers (like increase the font size, color change, audio ...) and even when these tools are directly on these websites, they are not necessarily well informed they can use.
• Socialization: the use of the keyboard but would theoretically be more suited seniors want to use the mouse to be around them.
• Cognitive Problems: words / concepts / images do not have the same meaning for everyone (still prefer the words to icons only, for example, the cross was not unidirectional: it can be used to delete a document, to stop a procedure or even to close a window such as Windows).
• Loss of attention: it is a problem for the multi-step process.
• Information overload: too much information parasitic key information (extraneous information, advertising and entertainment) and web pages are too long to avoid.
• Navigation inconsistent: presentation of the web page not usual, browsing web links creating a non-linear reading and browsing different pages according to disrupt navigation fixes.
• Problem viewing search results: seniors use more often than the average Internet search engines found on the websites. However, research results are not always displayed in a meaningful way (the name of research is not taken, the number of results found is not given, the presentation of results is not ordered ...).
• Problem on font sizes and color contrasts: a reduction of peripheral vision, easier to distinguish the colors red and yellow colors blue and green, needs more light with more difficulty adjusting to the sight rapid changes in brightness.
• Web links are not underlined and not blue, the personalization of Web links can interfere.

Comparison with the accessibility rules

WAI says its accessibility guidelines cover the majority of requirements to meet the needs of seniors. The document WAI Guidelines and Older Web Users: Findings from a Literature Review is being prepared to explain this statement (it contains tables of correspondence between the requirements for seniors and the WCAG 1.0 and WCAG 2.0).

Recommendations for a web and also for all senior

Based on information gathered during the seminar and from the analysis of resources on "Seniors and the Web" from Portal on digital access , here is a list of recommendations that appear to be consensus and that would, if applied on a website to make it usable also by seniors:

• Font: Use a size of 12 points or even 14 points.
• Capital letters: Use in all capital letters only in the titles.
• Line spacing and paragraphs, double space between two paragraphs from one line.
• Web Links: Web links did underline and put in blue.
• Colors: avoid the juxtaposition of yellow, blue and green.
• Wallpaper: prefer dark backgrounds and light text.
• Images: double icons with text (when necessary).
• Style: prefer short paragraphs with style logic (use bulleted lists for example).
• Videos: caption videos and involve a transcript.
• Navigation Menu: prefer static menus drop down menus.
• Internal Navigation: web pages propose links navigation "Back" and "Next".
• Format: web pages must be consistent (same menu navigation, the same layout ...).
• Mouse: Double click the ban.
• Site map: to provide a site map.
• Search: presenting research findings in an orderly manner by displaying the title of the research.

Conclusion

The search began at the international level to specify what the problems encountered by seniors on the Web and what are the solutions. It seems at this point that compliance with international recommendations for web accessibility of WAI and usability of additional rules to allow a website to be searchable also by the elderly.

The question is therefore not to establish new international but to better enforce existing ones.

However, all the actors of this research on "Seniors and the Web" indicates the user tests as necessary on web sites and services. The unique application of the recommendations for web accessibility is not sufficient to ensure the usability of websites by seniors.