When thinking of web accessibility as merely a checkbox to get through, it leaves the door open to many potential mistakes.
In the past couple of months, I’ve been leading on accessibility, which does involve supporting our clients in being compliant, but at the heart of it, my role is being a voice to those with different disabilities trying to simply navigate the online world.
In my time of auditing websites, I have experienced how tedious it can be tabbing through elements irrelevant to my journey and have seen how one simple accessibility enhancement can go a long way. However, there is only so far you can go when it comes to trying to understand the perspective of a visually impaired person.
This month, I had the opportunity to lead an accessibility workshop with three students from New College Worcester, a school for the blind and partially sighted. This was a rewarding experience for my team and I. Having seen for myself how hard it was for the students to complete tasks that had been considered simple, made the problem of an inaccessible website more of a reality for me.
Despite the hindrances they faced, the students tried their best to work their way around the tasks. I had to stop myself from reaching out to help a student, as that wasn’t the point. We were to observe the reality of their online experience - and believe you me, there is a lot of work to be done. There has been a lot of conversations on Web Accessibility, which there should be, but most of the time, the people impacted by it are not part of the conversation. Like anything, things are understood best by those directly impacted by them.
This workshop is something that I won’t forget, and just like anything, it’s important not to assume that you have all the answers, especially to something you haven't experienced firsthand. Moreover, when completing a web accessibility audit, it’s important to not just check a list. Step into their shoes and really try to understand it from their perspective, and even better, ask someone who experiences this reality.
- Axelle H