GB/T 45445-2025General requirements for age-friendly E-commerce platform (English PDF)

1 Scope

This document lays down the general requirements, the design requirements, the interaction requirements and the safety requirements for making an electronic commerce platform age-friendly.

This document applies to the design, development, evaluation and adaptation of age-friendly electronic commerce platforms.

2 Normative references

The contents of the following documents constitute indispensable provisions of this document through the normative references made to them in the text. For dated references, only the version corresponding to that date applies to this document; for undated references, the latest version (including all amendments) applies to this document.

GB/T 35273, Information security technology - Personal information security specification.

GB/T 37668, Information technology - Technical requirements and testing methods of accessibility for internet content.

GB/T 38652, Electronic commerce business terminology.

3 Terms and definitions

The terms and definitions given in GB/T 37668 and GB/T 38652 and the following apply to this document.

3.1 E-commerce platform: an information network system that provides one or more services, such as information publishing, information delivery and data processing, to two or more parties to a transaction, and that can bring transactions about. Note: the E-commerce platforms covered by this document include traditional E-commerce platforms in the form of web pages and mobile applications, social E-commerce platforms and live-streaming E-commerce platforms. [SOURCE: GB/T 38652-2020, 2.2, modified]

3.2 age-friendly: suited to use by older people, meeting their physical and psychological needs of safety, convenience, comfort, health, social participation and cultural life.

3.3 webpage: a plain text file containing hypertext markup language tags. [SOURCE: GB/T 37668-2019, 2.1]

3.4 mobile application: application software that runs on a mobile device. [SOURCE: GB/T 37668-2019, 2.2]

3.5 screen reader: a function that, following the user's keyboard, gesture, voice or other instructions, converts information displayed on the screen, such as text and the text annotations of images, into speech.

4 General requirements

4.1 Full attention shall be paid to the perceptual abilities of older users, so that they can obtain and recognize the information on the platform effectively.

4.2 Simple and intuitive ways of operating shall be provided, so as to lower the difficulty of use for older users.

4.3 The content, the functions and the operating flow shall be easy to understand, and interaction that is too complicated or too specialized shall be avoided.

4.4 The platform shall be compatible with the main devices and browsers, so that older users can reach and use it normally.

4.5 The personal information security and the transaction security of older users shall be safeguarded.

5.1 Age-friendly mode

5.1.1.1 The E-commerce platform shall have an age-friendly mode, under a name such as elder version, senior version or care version, it shall have a conspicuous entry point, and it shall support switching into the age-friendly mode.

5.1.1.2 The E-commerce platform should set up a mechanism for recognizing that a user is an older person, and may then recommend the age-friendly version on its own initiative.

5.1.2 The age-friendly version of the E-commerce platform may be a separate web page and mobile application version, or may be embedded within the ordinary web page and mobile application version.

5.1.3 Once the platform has switched to the age-friendly mode, each of its screens shall be plain and clear, and shall display only the modules that are needed for shopping or for the service concerned.

5.2 Governance of age-friendly content

5.2.1 Governance of telecommunications and network fraud. The E-commerce platform shall set up internal control arrangements and a safety responsibility system against telecommunications and network fraud, and shall strengthen the security assessment of the fraud risk of new business. It shall carry out publicity against telecommunications and network fraud among its staff and its users, and shall give warnings about the prevention of such fraud in the relevant business activities; where applicable, it should provide text, images, audio and video teaching how to keep older people from being harmed by telecommunications and network fraud.

5.2.2 Age-friendly content. In the screens and the content of the age-friendly mode, the E-commerce platform shall use forms of expression that older people find easy to understand, and shall avoid uncommon abbreviations, English acronyms and internet slang.

6.1 Age-friendly display assistance

6.1.1.1 Text size setting. The E-commerce platform shall provide a function for setting the size of the text on the service screens, taking into account the effect of the type of font on legibility. Under the default setting, the main text in the age-friendly mode of the platform shall be not smaller than 18 dp or 18 pt; when the largest font is selected, the largest font of the text information on its main functions and main screens shall be not smaller than 30 dp or 30 pt.

6.1.1.2 Text contrast. The text contrast of the icons and screens of the E-commerce platform shall be not lower than 4.5 to 1; where the type size is larger than 18 dp or 18 pt, the contrast of the text and of images of text shall be at least 3 to 1.

6.1.1.3 Way of displaying text. The text screens of the E-commerce platform shall support display as white characters on a black ground, and should use a display combining text and icons.

6.1.1.4 Line spacing. On the screens of the E-commerce platform, the line spacing of the text within a paragraph shall be at least 1.5 times, and the spacing between paragraphs shall be at least 1.5 times greater than the line spacing.

6.1.1.5 Use of colour. On the screens of the E-commerce platform there should not be too many text colours, and text colour shall not be the only means of conveying information, indicating an action or signalling a response and of distinguishing visual elements. For example, where the user has entered the wrong password, the user may be told directly in words or by voice that the entry is wrong, so that colour is not the only means of signalling it.

6.1.2.1 Icon display. On the main screen of the E-commerce platform the icons shall support a square or a circular shape, and their size shall be adjustable by setting the age-friendly mode; after adjustment the largest application icon shall meet the following requirements: a) the straight side of a square application icon shall be not less than 11 mm; b) the diameter of a circular application icon shall be not less than 11 mm.

6.1.2.2 Image display. The E-commerce platform shall support magnification of the whole or of part of the content displayed on the screen; once that function is switched on, it shall be operable by a shortcut such as a gesture. Magnification shall be possible up to 200 percent, and no displayed content shall be lost.

6.1.3.1 Operating guidance videos. The E-commerce platform shall provide, on its main screen, guidance and learning videos on the basic operation of the platform, covering the basic functions of operating the main screen, choosing goods, providing services, paying for orders and after-sales service, so that older people can learn and use the platform by watching.

6.1.3.2 Purchasing guidance videos. The age-friendly mode of the E-commerce platform should give priority to recommending video introductions to goods or services to older people, so as to guide them in choosing goods or services.

6.2 Voice assistance

6.2.1 Voice guidance assistance. The E-commerce platform shall set a conspicuous voice guidance option on its main screen. The components and text information of the age-friendly screens should be provided with an online age-friendly voice reading service.

6.2.2 Control of voice guidance. The voice reading service of the E-commerce platform shall have settings for switching the reading on and off, and shall be operable and controllable through assistive technology, so as to avoid conflicts between services.

6.2.3 Real-time screen reading service. The E-commerce platform shall provide a voice reading service that is consistent with the user's operation, and shall provide a setting for switching it on and off.

6.2.4 Voice customer service. Once the platform has switched to the age-friendly mode, the voice customer service option shall be clearly displayed; clicking it shall lead to a voice customer service enquiry, which should be a human telephone service and may provide service in dialect.

6.3 Age-friendly operation assistance

6.3.1 Component focus. When a component on the screen is focused by mouse, by pointer, by keyboard or in another way, that component shall give a clear indication of its state. The clickable focus area of the main components on the screens of the age-friendly mode should be not smaller than 48 dp by 48 dp or 48 pt by 48 pt.

6.3.2 Gesture operation. In the mobile application setting, feedback shall be given on the result of the user's gesture navigation or gesture operation, and complex gestures that need three or more fingers shall be avoided.

6.3.3 Sufficient time for operation. Where a time limit is not a necessary part or a key element of the activity, and where it does not lead the user into a legal commitment or a financial transaction, sufficient time shall be allowed for the user's operation, and the screen shall not change until the user has finished. The time allowed for payment should be not less than 15 min. The validity of a text message verification code, including a payment verification code, should be not less than 5 min.

6.3.4 Floating windows. Where there is a floating window on a screen of the E-commerce platform, a button that the user can easily use to close it shall be provided; on the screens of the age-friendly mode the minimum click response area of the close button of a floating window shall be not smaller than 44 dp by 44 dp or 44 pt by 44 pt.

6.4 Compatibility with assistive technology

The E-commerce platform shall not prohibit or restrict the connection and use of assistive devices that the maker of the electronic terminal has already adapted, such as screen reading software and voice assistants. When an assistive tool is switched on, all functional components in the content of the E-commerce platform shall work normally.

7 Safety requirements

7.1 Control of misleading buttons. The E-commerce platform shall not have misleading buttons that induce the user to download, to click, to enter personal information or to pay.

7.2 Control of advertising plug-ins. Advertising plug-ins should not appear in the age-friendly mode of the E-commerce platform, and advertisements or temporary advertising pop-ups should not appear at random. Where an advertisement is published in a pop-up or similar form, a closing mark shall be shown clearly so that it can be closed with a single click. Users shall not be induced by deception to click on advertising content.

7.3 Personal information security. When the E-commerce platform processes personal information it shall follow the principle of the minimum necessary; the processing of personal information shall have a clear and reasonable purpose and shall be limited to the smallest range needed to achieve that purpose, and personal information unrelated to the purpose of processing shall not be processed. The protection of the user's personal information follows the provisions of GB/T 35273.