Tag Archives: universal design

Does your web site make people cry?

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drawing of two people, one using a smartphone and one using a desktop computer

I’m an advocate for accessibility on the World Wide Web. I’m not a web designer, but I am a human, and just as I want every person to be able to easily enter a public building and see a movie, get a passport, buy a meal, enjoy artwork, get medical care, complain to the management, etc., I want every person to be able to access the critical information and services they need via the Internet. Accessibility isn’t just nice to do in a web site design – it’s a sign of respect. It’s a human right. And a site that doesn’t try to be accessible is, to me, a sign of profound disrespect.

Just how distressing and painful an inaccessible web site can be was brought home for me recently: an elderly neighbor needed to put her sweet, beloved 12-year-old dog down. She was heartbroken. It was important to her for this procedure to be done in her own home, so she could be there at the moment of his death – something she couldn’t do in a vet’s office because of COVID-19 precautions. She booked an appointment through a company that specializes in euthanasia for pets at home via phone. Then she went online to pay. Her only Internet access is through her Android phone. She went through the very lengthy online form four times, and four times, she got to the end and there was a frowny face and the words, “Show you are human.” She didn’t understand what it meant. She clicked everywhere she could think of, hit return over and over and, each time, would have to go back and start all over. She was in tears by the time she texted me, begging for help.

I had to make the appointment for her on my Apple laptop, and I was confused by the form several times – it often wasn’t clear which field box went with which field box description. When I got to the end of the form, I was presented with a captcha – that’s what wasn’t working on her smartphone when she was trying to pay. By the end of the process, we were both even more stressed out – we had wanted to focus that day on saying goodbye to a beloved friend, and instead, we were both emotionally drained by an inaccessble web site.

How many older people have been in the same position because of an inaccessible web site? How many people have been urgently trying to make an appointment, pay a bill, get critically-needed information, and have been frustrated and even demoralized by an inaccessible web site? How many web sites have literally made people cry?

These accessibility recommendations from the State of Illinois are a good place to start in making a web site more accessible. 

And the keyword #WebWeWant on Twitter is a good one to follow.

Also see:

If you have benefited from this blog or other parts of my web site or my YouTube videos and would like to support the time that went into researching information, developing material, preparing articles, updating pages, etc. (I receive no funding for this work), here is how you can help. 

Are you a web designer? Then this is for YOU

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The Accessibility Internet Rally is the centerpiece project of the nonprofit organization Knowbility.org, based in Austin, Texas. It’s my favorite corporate volunteering event, my favorite group volunteering event, my favorite tech volunteering event, and my favorite episodic volunteering event. And now that it’s available to anyone to participate online, it’s poised to become my favorite online volunteering event!

The Open Accessibility Internet Rally (OpenAir) is an international community hackathon with a unique twist – accessibility! OpenAIR increases awareness of the tools and techniques that make the Internet accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities, and it also enhances participants’ accessible design skills. Unlike other hackathons, the things that get developed at this event are used LONG after the event is over! Unlike other hackathons, this event changes people and the way they work for years to come.

Experts in the accessibility field will act as mentors during the competition – that’s some primo networking! Truly, participate in this, and you increase your own marketability as a web designer!

Added bonus: this year, OpenAIR has added new game elements, leaderboards, and fabulous prizes.

OpenAIR begins in October and wraps up with an awards ceremony in February. Requirements to participate:

  • Skilled in web production: Designers, developers, QA testers, we’re looking at you!
  • Passionate about making a difference: Help non-profits, create inclusive content, empower everyone to access the web.
  • Eager to learn: You’ll receive amazing training and support: prepare to be challenged!
  • Ready to level up: You don’t mind getting a little glory for your skills and your team.

If this describes you or your team, don’t miss out! There are limited spots, and the competition is just about to start. This year’s OpenAIR kicks off at the Google campus in Austin, TX in October, streamed live across the world.

Reserve your team on OpenAIR now! (The first 10 teams that sign up receive a custom game avatar for the competition)

Don’t have a team? Don’t think you can put together a team on your own? Still want to participate as a designer? No problem! Register as an individual and Knowbility will help you join a team!

Are you a nonprofit that wants to be the recipient of an OpenAIR web design/collaboration? Register here.

Is your web site for everyone, or just the elite?

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For three days the last week of March, I was in a place that had very slow Internet access: a senior citizens home. No, I’m not a senior citizen yet, but my grandmother is, and I was staying with her while visiting family back in Kentucky.

I was profoundly disappointed to find so many, many of your web sites that were not accessible with a slow Internet connection.

People don’t visit web sites for flashy graphics or award-winning designs. They visit web sites – particularly those for nonprofits, NGOs, schools, state offices and other mission-based organizations — to:

  • get directions to your organization
  • find out where to park once they are there
  • see what hours you are open
  • read more about your upcoming programs, events or activities
  • find out how your organization involves volunteers and if volunteering is something that might interest them
  • see how your organization spends donations
  • see how your organization might help them, a family member, a neighbor, a friend, etc.
  • see if you have any jobs available
  • read about your accomplishments
  • and to retrieve various other information.

Do you want everyone to be able to access this information, or just those with the best Internet access?

Not everyone has broadband. Not everyone has a fast Internet connection. If your web site isn’t as accessible as it can possibly be, you are leaving out potential donors, clients, volunteers and others. And maybe that’s okay with you – maybe you are focused only on the elites of the Internet.

But if you do want to be a resource for everyone, then it’s high time you find out just how quickly your web site loads on a slow Internet connection. Ask your volunteers for help in finding people to test your site. To not do so is to say to many, many people, “We don’t want you as a donor, a client or a volunteer.” Do you really want to do that?