2014 Accessible Websites Are Always Ugly and Other Myths Christine Ingalls, Intuit 10 October 2014 #GHC

Myths of Accessibility

2014 Accessibility is just for the visually impaired  Accessibility is about removing barriers for all people with disabilities −Visual −Motor/mobility −Auditory −Seizures −Cognitive/intellectual Myth #1

2014 Accessible websites benefit only a small percentage of the population  10% of all internet users have a disability  This is not a good reason to ignore accessibility  Accessibility fixes can help the general population Myth #2

2014 Web accessibility is optional  It’s complicated −Required by law in many countries UK – Equality Act of 2010 US – Section 508 US – Americans with Disabilities Act  It’s inclusive Myth #3

2014 Accessible websites are ugly and boring  Only if they are written that way  Many accessible sites are – but so are many inaccessible sites  Modern technology is not a limiting factor Myth #4

2014 Accessibility is the responsibility of the developers  Accessibility is the responsibility of everyone  Management needs to be committed to accessibility  Customers need to provide feedback  Governments and agencies need to provide clear guidelines Myth #5

2014 Using automated tools is enough to test for accessibility  Is doing manual testing for accessibility enough?  Both methods should be used to complement one another Myth #6

2014 My main site is accessible, my mobile site does not have to be  Mobile is gaining market share very quickly  Disabled people use smartphones  Fancy effects can be a problem for assistive technologies Myth #7

2014 Websites have to be accessible from the start  Web development is iterative  Business realities need to be considered  Need to foster culture of designing for inclusion Myth #8

2014 Disabled people use assistive technologies  Assistive technology does not solve all accessibility problems  Assistive technology is only as good as the information given Myth #9

2014 The most important accessibility concept is alt-text  Geared to people with visual impairments  Does not serve people with cognitive disabilities well  Choose your image wisely Myth #10

2014 Just add a text-only version  Text-only sites can be exclusionary  Maintaining two sites can be cumbersome  Many users connect better with images and videos Myth #11

2014 If a page meets WCAG 2.0 it is “accessible”  There are three levels – what level are you meeting?  Some users may not be able to use your site even if you are compliant  Guidelines are often subject to interpretation Myth #12

2014 Only accessibility experts can implement accessibility fixes  All web developers use the tools to create accessible web sites  It’s just HTML …  Adherence to good coding standards is required Myth #13

2014 Web accessibility is hard to implement and expensive  If you design for it, it is not  If you need to retrofit an existing site, it can be  What if you get sued? Myth #14

2014 Simple easy tests for accessibility  Use a keyboard  Check link names  Try zooming on your browser  Look for bad contrast and use of color to convey meaning  Pages with usability issues are probably inaccessible

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