WEB ACCESSIBILITY OF EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES: ANALYSIS OF SHORTCOMINGS AND IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES

Abstract

The importance of web accessibility for educational websites and institutions is particularly critical, as these resources serve as key information sources for students, educators, and prospective applicants. The inaccessibility of these sites can hinder equal access to educational materials, application processes, and participation in the learning process. This is especially relevant in the context of the increasing digitalization of education, where more and more learning materials and services are provided online. Ensuring web accessibility is a necessary condition for all users to have equal opportunities to access education and information. An analysis of the web accessibility of higher education institutions’ websites in the Odessa region using Axe DevTools revealed numerous issues that may affect the accessibility of resources for users with disabilities. The most common problems include the lack of visible text labels for buttons, failure to meet minimum color contrast requirements, and the absence of alternative text for images. The most problematic aspect was the semantic structure of pages, which affects the ease of navigation for users, especially those using screen readers. The issue related to the failure to meet the requirement that all page content should be contained by landmarks proved to be one of the most challenging, as fixing it requires a thorough review of the website’s structure. Landmarks help users who rely on assistive technologies to navigate the site more effectively. The absence of such landmarks can lead to significant difficulties in using the resource. The primary causes of such errors are the developers’ lack of awareness regarding web accessibility standards and the importance of semantic HTML markup. Even minor oversights, such as the absence of correct tags, can significantly impact the accessibility of content for certain user groups. This highlights the necessity of increasing developers’ awareness of accessibility issues, as well as implementing clear requirements for web accessibility in the development and maintenance of websites, especially those of government and educational institutions.