Interpretation of web page layouts by blind users

Digital libraries must support assistive technologies that allow people with disabilities such as blindness to use, navigate and understand their documents. Increasingly, many documents are Web-based and present their contents using complex layouts. However, approaches that translate two-dimensional layouts to one-dimensional speech produce a very different user experience and loss of information. To address this issue, we conducted a study of how blind people navigate and interpret layouts of news and shopping Web pages using current assistive technology. The study revealed that blind people do not parse Web pages fully during their first visit, and that they can miss important parts. The study also provided insights for improving assistive technologies.