The tech industry is leading the charge in making brands more accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. There are apps that read mail, apps that can identify household objects, and even apps that provide tactile experiences during a solar eclipse. Organizations now have a corporate social responsibility to create and sustain an accessible digital brand experience, yet many are lagging behind. As a result, more than 240 lawsuits were filed last year alone against companies alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This presentation helps communicate what makes a website accessible, why that’s important, and how accessibility is becoming so commonplace, it will soon be the norm in website design.
3. 1. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/disability.htm
2. https://nfb.org/fact-sheet-blindness-and-low-vision
3. https://mangomattermedia.com/web-design/ensure-accessibility-every-online-audience/
4. www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/damiano-la-rocca/website-accessibility_b_9931304.html
Americans are
blind or visually
impaired1
22.9
MILLION
About
Americans with a
hearing
impairment are
active online3
7.6 MILLION
At least
of blind or visually
impaired
consumers in the
next 30 years2
DOUBLING
We will see a
of websites did
not meet basic
accessibility
standards4
70%
In 2015
6. SCREEN READERS
JAWS is the most popular screen reading
software in the world. It’s a Microsoft
software that provides text-to-speech
translation or a Braille display.
7. View Details
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Cat
Fish
Bird
Reptile
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Pharmacy
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Treats
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Supplies
Life Fish
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Supplies
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Terms of Use
8. 1.0 UTILITY
Sign In Cart Find a Store Search
2.0 PROMOTIONS
3.0 MAIN
NAVIGATION
4.0 BANNERS
5.0 CATEGORIES
6.0 FOOTER
Contact Us Pet Services Careers Help Center About Us Email Sign-
Up Store Locator Site Map Privacy Policy Terms of Use
Food Treats Supplies More Dog Products
5.1 DOG
Food & Treats Litter Supplies More Cat Products
5.2 CAT
Food & Care Supplies Live Fish More Fish Products
5.3 FISH
Food & Treats Supplies Live Birds More Bird Products
5.4 BIRD
Food & Care Supplies Live Fish More Fish Products
5.5 REPTILE
Food & Treats Supplies Live Birds More Small Pet Products
5.6 SMALL PET
Shop Dogs Shop Cats Shop Food Shop Treats Shop Supplies
Dog Cat Fish Bird Reptile Small Pet Pharmacy Sale
Free Shipping Promo Details
12. “Winn-Dixie has presented no
evidence to establish that it would
be unduly burdensome to make
its website accessible to visually
impaired individuals.
To the contrary, its corporate
representative unequivocally
testified that modifying the
website to make it accessible to
the visual impaired was feasible.”
N. Scola, Jr., United States District Judge in Gil v. Winn-Dixie
13. Welcome to the new normal.
ACCESSIBILITY-FIRST IS THE NEW
“MOBILE-FIRST”
14. The Web Content
Accessibility
Guidelines (WCAG) are part
of a series of web
accessibility guidelines
published by the Web
Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
of the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C), the main
international standards
organization for the
Internet.
15. PRINCIPLES OF ACCESSIBILITY (P.O.U.R.)
Provide text alternatives for non-text content.
Provide captions and other alternatives for multimedia.
Create content that can be presented in different ways,
including by assistive technologies, without losing
meaning.
Make it easier for users to see and hear content.
Perceivable
16. PRINCIPLES OF ACCESSIBILITY (P.O.U.R.)
Make all functionality available from a keyboard.
Give users enough time to read and use content.
Do not use content that causes seizures.
Help users navigate and find content.
Operable
17. PRINCIPLES OF ACCESSIBILITY (P.O.U.R.)
Make text readable and understandable.
Make content appear and operate in
predictable ways.
Help users avoid and correct mistakes.
Understandable
19. WCAG LEVELS OF ACCESSIBILITY
Content structure that is logical and easy-to-follow by
screen readers
Consistent metadata, including alt image tags
Content that tells an easy-to-follow story, free of jargon
and unrelated images
Avoid “read more” and “click this link” in favor of more
specific, descriptive calls to action
LEVEL A
Websites MUST support this
tier of accessibility
20. WCAG LEVELS OF ACCESSIBILITY
No highly visual elements
No carousels/sliders
No auto play video and audio (without subtitles)
No text embedded in images
No features that are initially hidden on a page
No labor-intensive UX
LEVEL
AAWebsites SHOULD support
this tier of accessibility
21. WCAG LEVELS OF ACCESSIBILITY
Custom code written specifically for users who are Blind
or Visually Impaired
Captions or voiceovers on videos
LEVEL AAA
Websites MAY support this
tier of accessibility
Back story
Career was in banking and finance. Went to college after high school. Got married, had son. Worked at bank as a teller, making way from customer service rep - was working toward management when diagnosed.
Would be driving to work and would seem as if things would pop out of nowhere in front of me - thought needed glasses.
Favorite musical artists: Pink, Journey, Wings and ’80s pop.
Diagnosis
Went to vision center, doctor said had retinitis pigmentosa – I said well, ok, let's go get some glasses. He said no you don't understand, you'll go blind in your lifetime.
It was a devastating diagnosis - since it was degenerative disease, I didn't leave the doctor with any less vision that day but certainly a jarring diagnosis.
True to form, I continued to work and raise son and be half of a marriage.
Depression
As time went on, vision continued to go. About 13 years later was the highlight of career. I was managing the credit union branch, but no longer had enough vision to do my job. So I stopped working and went on social security disability.
Iwent from normal life, American dream. Then my vision left and what do I do now?
I stayed home for about 8 years. My son was still 5th grade, husband was pursuing business. Staying home worked well but I was so intrinsically wired to work that I had to get out. I was continuing to lose vision, was barely getting out of my pajamas, was significantly depressed, then marriage ended.
It was a very difficult time, really had no understanding of how to go on.
These are against large companies and small companies alike.
Target and Bank of America were first targets due to the use of their websites being strongly associated with the brick and mortar locations.
Reebok’s “cutting edge” designs made the site (probably unintentionally) completely inaccessible.
And Panera dumped $42M into a digital, tablet-based ordering system that had zero provisions for people with disabilities. They even are going after the good guys, like the ACS and many local governments.
Many of the cases are being prosecuted by the DOJ and not plaintiffs looking to make a point.
How Lise’s performing (position with Bosma, better job than I do)
Now on executive leadership team and executive director of marketing. I couldn't do banking job because technology wasn't available - with training and technology, have been able to progress.
Pace oversees all communication, advertising, public policy and public relations efforts for the organization.
The great work Bosma and Envision do
They found a way to use the way to help people who are BVI to have productive, amazing lives
We should do that too
We are all Lise. We’re a moment away from our lives completely changing.