Website Quality Assessment of the School of Political and Social Sciences, University of Phayao based on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Abstract

The School of Political and Social Sciences, University of Phayao recognizes the importance of disseminating useful information to everyone to support the improvement and development of the website to make it more accessible. Therefore, it is necessary to be aware of the current situation and information to use in the analysis and improvement process, both directionally and appropriately. The objectives of this research are as follows: To assess the quality of the School of Political and Social Sciences, University of Phayao Website using WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines, which focus on making the website accessible to everyone. This assessment will be conducted using the "WEB ACCESSIBILITY CHECKER" an automated tool developed by the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA). To prepare recommendations for improving the website in line with these guidelines.

The study found that the website of the School of Political and Social Sciences, University of Phayao still has errors in assessing website quality according to WCAG guidelines. Many of these errors are due to developers or website administrators not following WCAG guidelines, which prioritize users with disabilities or the elderly. Researchers have summarized recommendations and improvement guidelines for the website. These recommendations should be considered in order of importance, starting with the severity of the assessment details (errors, warnings, and notices) and ranking them from most to least. When these recommendations were implemented and a prototype website was created following WCAG guidelines and retested, it was found that errors of all types decreased, and the components became more accurate.