Web site accessibility evaluation methods in action A comparative approach for ministerial web sites in Iran Mohammad Hassanzadeh Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran, and Fatemeh Navidi Iranian Space Agency, Tehran, Iran Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to provide knowledge about methods used to evaluate the accessibility of Iranian web sites through a real research environment. Design/methodology/approach – The main theoretical base of this article is that almost all research conducted to evaluate the accessibility of web sites has used only one of three methods (namely manual, automatic and users’ experiences). However, it seems that using a combination of these three methods is actually necessary. Consequently, taking a critical approach this article examines 18 Iranian ministerial web sites using the three methods. Findings – Findings in both documents and evaluative studies show that each of the methods has deficits and it is necessary to employ a combination of the methods in order to conduct a reliable accessibility assessment. The different rankings of ministerial web sites in various evaluations have confirmed this view. Originality/value – Identifying the advantages and disadvantages of the three methods and employing them in real research environments to assess the accessibility of ministerial web sites has been a useful exercise. The work can not only be a starting point for further discussions on the reliability of accessibility evaluation methods, but can also be applied to other types of web site. Keywords Iran, Research, Web sites, Information searches, Information retrieval Paper type Research paper Introduction The worldwide web (www) is one of the most important information service providers on the internet and one that is vastly growing compared to other facilities and services offered by the internet. The advent of the worldwide web brought with itself a revolution in providing of information services to users across the globe such that today an enormous amount of information is available on the Net. On the other hand, its capability to present colorful graphic images, audio and video along with text and links to other contents can be thought of as the most important reason behind the ever-expanding use of the internet. In the last decade, the accessibility of web sites has turned into an essential concept, which needs to be taken into account when examining any particular web site. Web site accessibility is defined as ensuring that the information and services provided through the web can easily be accessed and used by a wide variety of people with different physical and mental capabilities complying with the environmental factors and other The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm Web site accessibility 789 Received 24 August 2009 Revised 6 October 2009 Accepted 7 October 2009 The Electronic Library Vol. 28 No. 6, 2010 pp. 789-803 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0264-0473 DOI 10.1108/02640471011093499