I am an advocate for people with disabilities’ right to a barrier-free environment. We have a right to be able to access content on websites. But with rights come responsibilities. We have a responsibility to know how to use the tools at our disposal. Web developers and site designers must ensure that web pages are written in such a way that the content can be accessed. But it is not their responsibility to hold the hand of their site’s visitors.
Featured posts
He Ain’t Blind, but He’s Got no Vision
I was meeting with a sports club for wheelchair users recently about their website. When we discussed website accessibility, one of their members, a wheelchair user himself, said that it didn’t matter. Let’s call him Bob (not his real name). Bob said that their "target market" was not blind people. This shows a lack of Vision, as well as a lack of understanding of the issues.
Google, the Largest Blind User on the ‘Net
It seems people tend to see accessibility as a nice bonus, but nowhere near mission critical. This is especially true when we compare the relative importance of accessibility and SEO. But what people forget is that search bots are a little bit like screenreaders. Accessibility is not only helping your visitors with disabilities, but it will help search bots to make sense of your site and to find your content.