Digital Accessibility Assessment of Sudanese Websites: A Multi-Tool Evaluation Across Governmental, Academic, and Service Sectors

Abstract

Despite global progress in digital accessibility, the extent to which websites in developing countries comply with international accessibility standards remains largely underexplored. This study presents an exploratory baseline assessment of digital accessibility across seven high-impact Sudanese websites representing academic, governmental, and service sectors. The evaluation employs a multi-tool triangulation approach using WAVE, axe DevTools, and Lighthouse to assess compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines.The results reveal substantial variability in accessibility performance, with Lighthouse scores ranging from 76 to 88. However, deeper inspection uncovers critical accessibility barriers across all sites, including insufficient color contrast, missing alternative text, ambiguous link labels, and non-semantic HTML structures. Notably, discrepancies between tool outputs highlight the limitations of relying on a single evaluation method, as some sites achieved relatively high scores despite significant structural deficiencies. The findings establish the first empirical baseline for digital accessibility in Sudan and demonstrate that the primary barriers are not technical limitations but rather institutional awareness and implementation gaps. The study concludes with targeted recommendations for policy, institutional governance, and developer practices aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA.