Access to the web is becoming more and more important every day. Are overlay widgets the best solution?
For the 26% of American adults who live with a disability, accessing information from the web can be a challenge. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that web content be accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities, and it applies to businesses that are open to the public and state and local governments (Title II) and (Title III). Unfortunately, many business owners are not aware of this. All too often, when site owners learn about this requirement, they reach for what they see as one-step cure-all: overlay widgets and AI. Unfortunately, these bolted on solutions do little to really help make a site accessible.
How disability can effect access
Internet users with a disability can be affected in a variety of ways:
- Those with vision impairments often use screen readers. When images lack alt text or captions, or transcripts of audio and video elements are not provided, someone using a screen reader will not have access to any of that content.
- Those using a screen reader or who have a physical disability often do not use a mouse for navigation. Forms and other interactive elements that are not accessible may be unusable to someone using a screen reader.
- Text with poor color contrast may be unreadable to someone with impaired vision.
These disabilities can include physical disabilities, such as blind users and deaf users, those with motor and dexterity disabilities, as well as cognitive disabilities. Many of these people access the web using voice, screen readers or other assistive technologies. In addition, it can include situational disabilities, and socio-economic restrictions on bandwidth and speed. When accessibility is built into the design, more users have equal access to information and functionality.
Other common reasons for web accessibility failure include:
- Empty links
- Missing form labels
- Empty buttons
- Missing document language
All of these issues are easily fixable. They don’t require adding a plugin or installing a widget. They simply require conscientious forethought and testing. When accessibility is built into the design, more users have equal access to information and functionality.
What is website accessibility?
Web accessibility ensures that there are no barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, websites by people with a disability.
- 90% of websites are inaccessible to people with disabilities who rely on assistive technology (AbilityNet).
- 98.1% of home pages had detectable WCAG 2 failures (WebAIM)
- 86% of websites had improper color contrast. (WebAIM)
What is an accessibility overlay?
Accessibility overlay tools are automated software solutions. They claim to detect and fix web accessibility issues, but what they actually do is add a layer over the site that addresses only basic accessibility issues.
Some of these include:
- text size adjustments
- color contrast
- magnification
- built in screen reader
- automatic addition of alt tags
Let’s take these points one by one:
- Text size adjustments and magnification are tools already available in every good web browser.
- Built-in screen reader: Most people who need this technology already have it.
- Automatic addition of alt tags: When AI is used to interpret images and describe them, accuracy and usefulness is low.
Reasons that accessibility overlay widgets fail
- The original code is unchanged. The overlay has to be active to work.
- Most people a with a disability have a set of tools and browser settings that they already use. Overlays force them to abandon their own familiar tools and learn a whole new set each time they visit a new website.
- Overlays don’t work well on mobile devices.
If accessibility overlay widgets are not the best solution to web accessibility, what is?
By following the principles of Universal Design, we can create an environment that can be accessed, understood and used by the greatest possible number of people. Designing an accessible website cannot be an after-thought. It must be a prime consideration for every design decision. Rather than relying on an overlay to make the font large enough or the color high-contrast enough, a web developer following universal design rules simply makes the font large enough and the contrast high enough for everyone. Rather than relying on AI to generate alt tags, the web developer needs to create suitable alt tags wherever they are needed.
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