The Deaf Community and Accessible Website Design: How User-Friendliness Augments Organizational Legitimacy

Abstract

This study examines the accessibility of the Internet for members of the deaf/hard-of-hearing (D/HH) community, an overlooked population in mainstream society. Fifty adult participants, with and without documented hearing loss, were recruited from several audiology and otolaryngology practices in the southeastern United States and from community centers in the same region. Participants were instructed to navigate one of three versions of a website developed for the experiment. The versions were structured to reflect three levels of accessibility: minimal, moderate, and high. Based on their experiences, respondents were asked to provide their ratings of Web accessibility and their evaluations of the organization featured on the website. Ratings of Web accessibility were found to significantly predict participants' impressions of the organization, and higher Web accessibility was associated with individuals' willingness to support the institution.