Glossary

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Web Accessibility Service(also: WAS)

A proxy-based intermediary service that sits between a web server and a client browser, intercepting and transforming web content to meet individual users' accessibility needs. Originally prototyped by IBM Research, a Web Accessibility Service parses HTML and related content,…

Web Adaptation(also: Content Adaptation, Web Content Adaptation)

The process of automatically modifying web content to improve usability, accessibility, or presentation for specific users, devices, or contexts. Web adaptation techniques include restructuring page layouts, generating content summaries, creating hierarchical outlines of page…

Web Aesthetics(also: Visual Aesthetics, Website Aesthetics)

The study and application of visual appeal in web design, encompassing how users perceive and respond to the visual qualities of websites. Research has identified two main dimensions of web aesthetics: classical aesthetics (characterised by simplicity, clarity, and orderliness)…

Web Agent(also: Autonomous Web Agent, Browser Agent)

An AI system that can autonomously perform tasks on websites by interpreting user goals and executing actions such as clicking, typing, and navigating. Web agents often use large language models or multimodal models to interpret page content and determine appropriate actions.…

Web Authoring(also: Web Authoring Tool, Content Authoring, Website Authoring)

Web authoring is the creation and editing of webpage content and structure, historically by writing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and increasingly through graphical WYSIWYG tools (Figma, Wix, Squarespace, WordPress block editors, Google Sites). Authoring tools are themselves…

Web Automation(also: Browser Automation, Web Macro)

The process of automating browsing actions on behalf of a user, such as filling forms, navigating between pages, clicking links, or extracting content. Web automation can be achieved through macros (pre-recorded sequences of instructions), scripted approaches, or Programming by…

Web Clutter(also: Page Clutter, Visual Clutter)

Non-essential elements on a web page that do not contribute to the primary content or user task, such as advertisements, decorative images, redundant navigation, social media widgets, and promotional banners. Web clutter disproportionately affects users of assistive…

Web Complexity(also: Page Complexity, Website Complexity)

A measure of the technical sophistication and structural density of a web page, typically assessed by the number and types of HTML elements, scripts, embedded objects, and interactive features present. In accessibility research, web complexity is an important factor because more…

Web Compliance Engineering

A discipline within Web Engineering focused on the application of quality assurance, testing, and management processes to ensure that web applications conform to standards, policy environments, and other quality criteria such as accessibility requirements. Web Compliance…

Web Composition(also: Component-Based Web Development)

Web composition is the practice of building web pages by dynamically combining smaller, reusable pieces of HTML markup — often called snippets, components, or fragments — into complete pages. Modern web frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue are built around this compositional…

Web Content Filtering(also: Content Filtering, Page Filtering)

The process of selectively displaying or hiding elements on a webpage based on specified criteria. Web content filtering encompasses both type-based filtering (e.g., ad blockers that remove advertisements) and relevance-based filtering (e.g., task-specific systems that assess…

Web Crawler(also: Spider, Web Spider, Web Scraper)

An automated program that systematically browses the World Wide Web by following links from page to page, collecting and indexing content. In accessibility, web crawlers are used as part of large-scale automated accessibility evaluation platforms to collect web pages for…

Web Crawling(also: Web Spidering, Web Scraping)

The automated process of systematically browsing and indexing web pages by following hyperlinks from a starting URL. In accessibility evaluation, web crawlers are used to discover and catalogue pages across a website for audit purposes. Two primary traversal strategies exist:…

Web Inclusion(also: Digital Inclusion, Web for All)

The principle and practice of ensuring that the web is usable by and beneficial to all people, regardless of disability, language, literacy, cultural background, technical proficiency, or socio-economic status. Web inclusion extends beyond traditional web accessibility by…

Web Information Extraction(also: WIE, Web Data Extraction, Web Scraping)

Web Information Extraction (WIE) is a set of techniques for automatically identifying and extracting structured data from web pages. In the context of accessibility, WIE methods are used to analyze the visual rendering of web pages to infer document structure, semantic roles,…

Web Interaction Environment(also: WIE)

A modelling concept defined as a particular audience group's set of intrinsic characteristics upon which tailored evaluation procedures can be applied to a website. Introduced by Lopes and Carrico (2008), WIEs organize user characteristics across four domains: Users (abilities,…

Web Intermediary(also: Web Proxy, Transcoding Proxy)

A system that sits between a user's web browser and the web server, intercepting and modifying HTTP requests and responses to adapt web content before it reaches the user. In accessibility contexts, web intermediaries can transform web pages to make them more accessible — for…

Web Localization(also: Website Localization, L10n)

The process of adapting a website for a specific locale or market, going beyond text translation to include technical and visual modifications such as adjusting layouts for different text directions, adapting date and currency formats, and modifying images and multimedia for…

Web Localization(also: L10n, Website Localization)

The process of adapting a website for a specific locale or target audience, going beyond translation to include cultural, visual, and technical elements such as date formats, colors, images, menu sizes, and page structure. In the context of accessibility, web localization…

Web Mediation(also: Web Content Mediation, Web Accessibility Mediation)

The process of automatically modifying web content as it passes between a web server and a user's browser, typically through a proxy server or browser extension, to improve its accessibility or usability. Web mediation can add missing accessibility features (such as generating…

Web Mining(also: Web Data Mining, Web Content Mining)

The application of data mining techniques to extract and discover useful information from web data, including web content, structure, and usage patterns. In accessibility evaluation, web mining can be used to analyse source code and DOM structures at scale to identify…

Web Mobility(also: Hypertext Mobility, Web Navigation Mobility)

A conceptual framework that applies principles of physical mobility and wayfinding to web navigation, particularly for visually impaired users. Web mobility encompasses the ability to move through hypertext with purpose, ease, and accuracy, requiring knowledge of current…

Web Navigation(also: Website Navigation, Web Browsing Navigation)

The process of moving through and finding information on websites, encompassing strategies like following links, using search, scanning headings, and interacting with menus and filters. Web navigation presents fundamentally different experiences depending on access method:…

Web Page Complexity(also: Page Complexity, Structural Complexity)

A measure of how much a web page contains in terms of interactivity, embedded media, and structural richness. The W3C's WCAG-EM defines complexity through three factors: level of interactivity, source and method of content generation, and implementation style. Quantitative…

Web Page Preview(also: Page Preview, Link Target Preview)

A summary or representation of a web page's content provided to users before they navigate to that page, allowing them to assess its relevance without committing to a full visit. For sighted users, visual previews like thumbnails or pop-up snippets serve this purpose. For screen…

Web Page Segmentation(also: Page Segmentation, Visual Page Segmentation)

The process of dividing a web page into its constituent visual blocks or semantic regions, such as headers, navigation menus, content areas, sidebars, and footers. Segmentation algorithms analyse both the source code (DOM structure) and the visual rendering of pages to identify…

Web Proxy(also: HTTP Proxy, Intermediary, Edge Service)

A web proxy (or intermediary) is a server that sits between a user's browser and the origin web server, intercepting and potentially modifying HTTP requests and responses as they pass through. In the context of accessibility, proxy-based systems have been used to transform web…

Web Readability(also: Online Readability)

The ease with which web content can be read and understood, encompassing both visual factors (typography, layout, color, responsive design) and linguistic factors (vocabulary, sentence complexity, content structure). Web readability has been the dominant focus of reading support…

Web Segmentation(also: Page Segmentation, Web Page Segmentation)

The process of dividing a web page into distinct, meaningful sections or segments based on visual layout, structural markup, or content semantics. Web segmentation is important for accessibility because screen readers typically narrate content in DOM order, which may not reflect…

Web Services

A standardized method of communication between software applications over the internet, typically using protocols such as HTTP, XML, SOAP, or REST. In the context of accessibility, web services architecture enables intermediary-based approaches where accessibility…

Web Speech API(also: Web Speech, SpeechSynthesis API)

A browser-native JavaScript API that provides speech recognition and speech synthesis capabilities directly within web applications. The Web Speech API enables developers to add text-to-speech and voice recognition features without requiring users to install screen reader…

Web Tracking(also: Online Tracking, Behavioural Tracking)

The collection of information about users across websites, typically by third parties, using techniques such as cookies, fingerprinting, tracking pixels, and network requests. Web tracking raises privacy concerns and can disproportionately affect disabled users who install more…

Web Transcoding(also: Content Transcoding, Web Page Transcoding)

The process of transforming or reformatting web page content to make it more accessible or usable in different contexts. Transcoding techniques include removing irrelevant elements, reordering content, adding skip links, and simplifying page structure. Originally developed to…

Web Transcoding(also: Content Transcoding, Web Content Transformation)

The process of automatically transforming web content to improve its presentation or accessibility for specific users or devices. Transcoding techniques can include simplifying page structure, adapting content for different screen sizes, or modifying text for users with…

Web Widget(also: Widget, UI Widget, Web Component)

A discrete, interactive user interface element within a web page that allows users to perform specific actions or view dynamic content. Widgets range from simple controls like checkboxes and dropdown menus to complex components like date pickers, chat windows, autocomplete…

Web disorientation(also: Lost in hyperspace, Navigation disorientation)

The feeling of being lost or confused while navigating websites, characterized by difficulty knowing one's current location within a site, how to return to previously visited pages, or how to find desired information. Web disorientation is predicted by Internet confidence and…

Web of Things(also: WoT)

An application layer built on top of the Internet of Things (IoT) that uses open web standards — including HTTP, WebSockets, JSON-LD, and semantic web technologies — as a universal platform for interoperability between connected devices. Proposed by the W3C, the Web of Things…

Web-Based Learning(also: WBL, Online Learning, E-Learning)

An educational approach that delivers instructional content and learning experiences through web browsers and internet-connected platforms, encompassing everything from static course websites to interactive simulations and learning management systems. Web-based learning has…

WebAIM(also: Web Accessibility In Mind)

WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind) is a non-profit organization based at the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University, founded in 1999 and recognized internationally as a leading provider of web accessibility expertise, training, and tooling. WebAIM produces…

WebAIM Million(also: WebAIM Million Report, The WebAIM Million)

An annual accessibility evaluation study conducted by WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind) that automatically tests the home pages of the top one million websites against WCAG 2 success criteria. The study has become a key benchmark for measuring the state of web accessibility…

WebAnywhere

A web-based, self-voicing screen reader developed at the University of Washington that enabled blind users to access the web from any computer with an Internet connection and sound output, without installing software. Launched in 2008, WebAnywhere ran entirely within a standard…

WebExtensions API(also: WebExtensions, Web Extensions API)

A cross-browser standard for building browser extensions, supported by Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, and other major browsers. It defines how extensions declare capabilities in a manifest.json file, inject content scripts, run background logic, and access browser APIs such as…

WebVTT(also: Web Video Text Tracks, Web Video Text Tracks Format)

WebVTT (Web Video Text Tracks) is the W3C standard text format for providing timed text tracks — including captions, subtitles, descriptions, chapters, and metadata — synchronized with HTML5 <video> and <audio> elements. WebVTT evolved from the earlier SRT subtitle format,…

Webcam-Based Interaction(also: Camera-Based Interaction, Video-Based Input)

An interaction paradigm where users communicate with a computer system through a webcam or camera, using gestures, sign language, facial expressions, or body movements as input. In accessibility contexts, webcam-based interaction enables alternative input methods for people who…

Weber's Law(also: Weber Ratio, Weber's Ratio, Weber-Fechner Law)

Weber's Law is a foundational principle of psychophysics stating that the smallest detectable change in a stimulus — the just-noticeable difference — is a roughly constant fraction of the stimulus magnitude rather than a fixed absolute amount. For example, if a user can reliably…

Webtoon(also: Web Comic, Digital Comic)

A format of digital comic originating in South Korea, designed for vertical scrolling on mobile devices. Webtoons are characterized by their long, continuous vertical panels, vibrant colors, and dynamic visual storytelling that relies heavily on visual effects, motion lines, and…

Webtoon Accessibility

The practice of making webtoons—vertically scrolling digital comics—accessible to people with disabilities, particularly blind and low vision users. Key challenges include converting rich visual narratives into audio form while preserving emotional engagement, pacing, and…

Weed-Out Course(also: Gateway Course, Gatekeeper Course, Barrier Course)

A course in higher education, typically in STEM fields, that is perceived as intentionally rigorous to filter out students who are deemed unlikely to succeed in a given discipline. Courses like organic chemistry, calculus, and physics are commonly labelled as weed-out courses.…

Well-being(also: Wellbeing, Well Being)

Well-being is a multi-dimensional construct covering a person's physical health, psychological state, social connectedness, autonomy, and environmental quality of life. Accessibility research uses well-being as a target outcome because disability-related technology can be…

Well-being Monitoring(also: Health Monitoring, Remote Health Monitoring, Ambient Assisted Living)

The use of sensors, devices, and software systems to track and report on an individual's health and daily living indicators — such as mobility, sleep patterns, eating and drinking habits, personal hygiene, and medical conditions — typically within their home environment.…