Useability of QVC.com

Well I know it has been a while since I have written anything.

Today I and a friend were trying to shop for a few items on QVC's website http://qvc.com While doing this we got a great surprise.

THE SITE IS 99% NON-ACCESSIBLE TO THE BLIND!

QVC's TV network on cable TV across the nation, is one of America's most convenient ways to shop. Someone can kick back in their pajamas or during a major snow storm and get all of their gift or personal shopping done, without leaving their homes.

The blind of America also find this to be a friendly and convenient way to shop. However sometimes the information given on TV is not enough to make a purchasing decision. So, like the rest of America with Internet access, we jump on the web to find the details. Well thats what we hoped to do.

Recently QVC made an ?UPGRADE? to their website. This in fact was a step backwards in accessibility. Features that once were easy to use like:

• Product details pages are setup so that it takes extra time and navigation to find product information. You must navigate beyond many images and the sale form before you will see the description. No useful headings to make jumping through content easier.
• Site search engin does not respond well to correctly spelled, but details requests "diamonique ring 14k gold" does not work consistantly.

In the interest of finding out how bad the accessibility of the site actually was I went onto Google and found a web accessibility checker that could check a website, by just entering the URL of a page..

The site I found is ATRC (Assistive Technology Resource Centre) at the University of Toronto. http://checker.atrc.utoronto.ca

Below is a link containing the results of the test. The site failed WCAG 1.0 (Level A), WCAG 2.0 Level 2, and Section 508.

http://checker.atrc.utoronto.ca/servlet/Checkacc?submit1=Check+It&file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.qvc.com%2Fqic%2Fqvcapp.aspx%2Fview.2%2Fapp.detail

Now is the time for everyone who shops with QVC to let them know about the problems that exist with their website. So, next time you call in to place an order, or talk to customer service let them know the problems with the site. If you wish to send them an e-mail, you will have to use a not so nice form to do it. Here is a link to it.