Shopping can be overwhelming for a blind user - especially around the holidays. Large crowds can be difficult to navigate, items hard to find, and getting assistance can be frustrating, or near impossible. Turning to the internet for online deals and convenience could be ideal for visually impaired consumers but, lack of web accessibility has severely limited a visually impaired user’s experience.
Think about a few of the challenges a visually impaired shopper faces; reading prices, seeing colors, and finding the right size. Issues that should be taken care of when shopping online. Visually impaired users use assistive technology to read the text provided on a website, and ideally the consumer has all the information needed, but currently this is not the case. Assistive tools are only as effective as the information supplied from websites to which they connect. Websites are often missing coding that make navigating a site near impossible with a screen reader. Sandi Wassmer, visually impaired blogger explained; “ I have yet to find a mainstream online shop that I can use out of the box. I still have to make adjustments or find workarounds on every site that I use and am yet to find an accessible one. I also find that, particularly when buying clothes, so many sites do not even offer basic information like size charts, fabric, or color,”(Sandi Wassmer, Shopping for the Visually Impaired).
Website owners often overlook accessibility or assume that blind users are not online. Jonathan Lazar, a computer science professor specializing in Web accessibility claims; “most companies that fail to provide accessible websites are acting from a place of ignorance. In his experience, he said many companies just assume they do not have blind or otherwise impaired customers using their website,”(The Daily Dot, The blind community's fight for a more accessible Web). The truth is many visually impaired shoppers, such as Sandi Wassmer and Empish Thomas, go online to access goods and services that are not available to them elsewhere. Thomas describes a positive experience she had shopping online with Publix, “the biggest thing I enjoy about shopping at Publix is their accessible website. Since I am totally blind now, I can not read the weekly sales ad in print, but I can online. Publix has accessible features on their website that speaks to the blind community,"(Empish Thomas, Why I shop at Publix link). When website owners choose not to make their website accessible there is a missed opportunity to reach an entire community of loyal customers.
Online shopping is just one example of how lack of accessibility has an impact on the blind community. As technology advances and the digital world expands, it is time to make accessibility a priority. Providing access to the visually impaired, should no longer be a thought for the future, but a present day expectation.
To learn more on how to test your website for compliance and accessibility issues go to www.auditgenie.com. AuditGenie™ is a leading provider of an online website testing tool that is used by web developers, law firms, human resource professionals, and advocacy groups.
Think about a few of the challenges a visually impaired shopper faces; reading prices, seeing colors, and finding the right size. Issues that should be taken care of when shopping online. Visually impaired users use assistive technology to read the text provided on a website, and ideally the consumer has all the information needed, but currently this is not the case. Assistive tools are only as effective as the information supplied from websites to which they connect. Websites are often missing coding that make navigating a site near impossible with a screen reader. Sandi Wassmer, visually impaired blogger explained; “ I have yet to find a mainstream online shop that I can use out of the box. I still have to make adjustments or find workarounds on every site that I use and am yet to find an accessible one. I also find that, particularly when buying clothes, so many sites do not even offer basic information like size charts, fabric, or color,”(Sandi Wassmer, Shopping for the Visually Impaired).
Website owners often overlook accessibility or assume that blind users are not online. Jonathan Lazar, a computer science professor specializing in Web accessibility claims; “most companies that fail to provide accessible websites are acting from a place of ignorance. In his experience, he said many companies just assume they do not have blind or otherwise impaired customers using their website,”(The Daily Dot, The blind community's fight for a more accessible Web). The truth is many visually impaired shoppers, such as Sandi Wassmer and Empish Thomas, go online to access goods and services that are not available to them elsewhere. Thomas describes a positive experience she had shopping online with Publix, “the biggest thing I enjoy about shopping at Publix is their accessible website. Since I am totally blind now, I can not read the weekly sales ad in print, but I can online. Publix has accessible features on their website that speaks to the blind community,"(Empish Thomas, Why I shop at Publix link). When website owners choose not to make their website accessible there is a missed opportunity to reach an entire community of loyal customers.
Online shopping is just one example of how lack of accessibility has an impact on the blind community. As technology advances and the digital world expands, it is time to make accessibility a priority. Providing access to the visually impaired, should no longer be a thought for the future, but a present day expectation.
To learn more on how to test your website for compliance and accessibility issues go to www.auditgenie.com. AuditGenie™ is a leading provider of an online website testing tool that is used by web developers, law firms, human resource professionals, and advocacy groups.
