How Do Tools like accessiBe Work?

Complying with WCAG 2.1, ADA Title III, and other disability access requirements is a challenge for site owners. The majority of sites fail to meet these standards and, as such, aren’t very accessible at all. This can potentially lead to lawsuits to encourage them to fix the problem but, ideally, doing so beforehand is far better. Accessibility tools are one way to address inaccessible sites sooner.

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How Can Accessible Tools Help?

There are different accessibility tools available. Some perform scans from website to website, whereas others integrate on your site and provide direct solutions. For example, with accessiBe, it only requires some code to be added to your website. From there, it can perform an accessibility scan to discover what’s missing or incorrectly set up on the site. Rather than imagining what might be wrong and only fixing those issues, a tool like this ensures nothing is missed through an error of omission.

Are Scans Performed Manually and Can They Become Outdated?

Some of the better disability tools have automated features and even incorporate some smart AI too. When choosing an accessibility tool, look for those that perform regular scans. These are better than manual tools where it’s necessary to either remember to do it or set a calendar reminder to so do.

For instance, a new article may be missing alt tag descriptions for the included images to describe what they depict for blind or partially sighted people. It’s an innocent mistake but one that can be found with an automated scan and quickly fixed. Without that, it could linger there for months.

Do Accessibility Tools Help Users Too?

Some do, some don’t. Following installation, some do provide accessible features on a website. This could be an ability to show text in different colors, to create greater contrast between the foreground and the background, or as a screen reader. These added features can encourage people with a disability to repeatedly use your site over another that’s doesn’t offer them. As such, it’s a kind of unique selling point.

Accessibility tools make it simpler to convert a site to make it more accessible. They can also sometimes provide added features to enhance the web experience for people with disabilities, which is even better.

Post Author: Michael Ryan