Accessible Website Content Guidelines for Users with Intellectual Disabilities

Background The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative has issued guidelines for making websites better and easier to access for people with various disabilities ( W3C Web Accessibility Initiative guidelines 1999 ). Method The usability of two versions of a website (a non‐adapted site and a site that was adapted on the basis of easy‐to‐read guidelines) was tested with two groups of 20 participants. One group had intellectual disabilities but could read, the other group had no identified intellectual disabilities. In a 2 × 2 experimental design, it was investigated whether the easy‐to‐read website was indeed better accessible and usable for the participants with intellectual disabilities. Results The adaptation of the website worked well for participants with intellectual disabilities. Users without identified intellectual disabilities were as effective with the adapted site as they were with the non‐adapted site. Conclusion The results form an empirical basis for recommendations about applying guidelines for easy‐to‐read text on websites for people with intellectual disabilities.