Without naming any names – because it doesn’t really matter which tool it is – an accessibility overlay is a tool that fundamentally harms the future of web site accessibility. The nature of accessibility testing is to expose issues to a human being who can then act on those issues. An accessibility overlay, by nature, avoids exposing what problems it has addressed to a human being. This is a crucial difference that has a long-term impact on the accessibility of […]
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Reminder: Accessibility can’t be solved automatically
The other day, Mike Gifford shared a post from Small Business Trends that talked about how free accessibility plugins cause problems for small business, in which my plug-in WP Accessibility was cited. In that message, he expressed that he was sorry to see my plug-in lumped in with other shady web site accessibility toolbars. But, in all honesty, I’m OK with that. WP Accessibility is definitely different from most of these other so-called accessibility toolbars, in that I’ve worked hard […]
Continue reading “Reminder: Accessibility can’t be solved automatically” »WordPress 5.0 Releases Today. What should you do?
The hubbub surrounding Gutenberg (soon to be known only as “the block editor”) has been intense since early October. For the purpose of this post, I want to put aside discussion of the process that lead to the release. Instead, I’m going to make my own specific recommendations for what users of WordPress should do. First, this is based on the assumption that you will stay on WordPress. Unless you have a pressing need to change content management systems, I […]
Continue reading “WordPress 5.0 Releases Today. What should you do?” »WordPress, Accessibility, and Gutenberg
Rian Rietveld resigned from the leadership of the WordPress Accessibility team today. When I first started talking about Gutenberg, I touted it as a future for creating a new, more accessible experience for both authors and website visitors. I was very optimistic – nervous, and aware that this was going to be a challenge, but optimistic. Part of what I hoped for has happened – but far from all of it. There are good things about Gutenberg. Monitoring the hierarchy […]
Continue reading “WordPress, Accessibility, and Gutenberg” »The myth of the keyboard-only user
An article I wrote on keyboard accessibility was published at Practical eCommerce magazine this morning. The topic is keyboard accessibility – what constitutes keyboard accessibility and how crucial it is for users who are blind, low-vision, or have mobility impairments. Which brings to mind the question: is there really such a thing as a fully keyboard-dependent user? This is a question that gets asked in accessibility communities occasionally. Most uses who are unable to use a standard mouse can still […]
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