WEB FRAMEWORKS AND ACCESSIBILITY: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS AND AI-POWERED DEVELOPMENT SOLUTION

Date

2025-8-22

Author

Babayev, Javid

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Web accessibility is crucial for inclusive design, yet the role of web frameworks in facilitating accessibility remains understudied. This research addresses this gap through a three-pronged approach. First, we analyzed accessibility documentation of ten popular web frameworks, finding that only ASP.NET Core offers integrated, up-to-date guidance with accessibility-focused examples. Second, we evaluated 621 websites (15,525 pages) built with React, Angular, and Vue using automated testing. Statistical analysis revealed no significant accessibility differences between frameworks, with at least half failing minimum WCAG Level A conformance due to missing image alternatives and unlabeled elements. Lastly, given that missing alternative text was a prevalent violation across most frameworks, we propose an AI-powered accessibility assistance tool in the form of a VS Code extension called Alt Text Helper, that seamlessly integrates into the development workflow and analyzes the code for missing alternative text for images and suggests AI-generated alt-text. The Alt Text Helper extension integrates multiple AI services through a modular architecture. An evaluation study with real developers yielded an exceptional System Usability Scale score of 97, demonstrating excellent usability. These findings reveal that framework choice alone does not determine accessibility outcomes, emphasizing the importance of developer practices. The research demonstrates AI-powered tools' potential to bridge accessibility gaps in web development using web frameworks while maintaining developer productivity, establishing a foundation for future accessibility tooling development.

Subject Keywords

Web Accessibility, Web Frameworks, WCAG, Documentation, React

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/116610

Collections

Northern Cyprus Campus, Thesis