User testers varied in their experience of using the Internet. Some were significantly more experienced than others.

Another factor influencing testing outcomes relates to levels of education. This varied among testers, from poorly educated to tertiary educated graduates.

This was also true of their experience with the technology they used, although most were experienced users of their individual technologies.

In general, it is probable that the testers’ familiarity with technology, the internet and educational levels would be higher than in the general population. So, while the testers cover a range of impairments, it would not be wholly accurate to extrapolate the experiences of these users to the general population of disabled people.

Some examples of the technologies used are:

• blind testers used screen reader technology, such as JAWS
• partially sighted people used screen magnifiers, such as Zoomtext
• mobility-impaired users used voice input technology, such as Dragon Speaking Naturally, as well as ‘sticky’ keys,
• Deaf and some reading impaired testers used no assistive technology, while one tester used software that assists reading the content of a website, for example highlighting menus and links.