Understanding Web Accessibility

For those familiar with my work, I've shared several articles focused on web accessibility. However, I often feel that this subject is overlooked in the realm of web development.

Attila Vágó, a prominent voice in accessibility discussions, has echoed similar sentiments. He noted in one of his writings that audience engagement with accessibility topics is surprisingly low, indicating a general lack of awareness or opinion on the matter.

"People know so little about software accessibility, they have no opinion on it, which is terrifying." — Attila Vágó

This raises an important question:

How can I make the concept of accessibility more relatable and meaningful to individuals without disabilities?

As you may have guessed, the crux of the issue lies here: the original article consists solely of images. Like any other visuals online, these images are inaccessible to individuals who are blind.

Text embedded in images remains invisible to blind users unless alt attributes are included. The alt attribute serves as a textual alternative that appears when images fail to load and is crucial for screen readers and other assistive technologies to ensure that all users can engage with your content effectively.

"The primary reason for using the alt tag is to enhance accessibility." — MDN

Despite its simplicity, many developers overlook this essential practice or may simply disregard it. If you're a writer on Medium, you might have noticed the option to add alt attributes to images in your articles. I encourage you to utilize this feature!

To truly appreciate the significance of these attributes, I recommend you try using a screen reader or the accessibility tools available on your device to experience this article from a different perspective. You might find that there isn’t much text to interact with.

Final Reflections

Clearly, I aim to highlight an important issue here. Incorporating text into images is not a sensible approach for conveying information.

I hope to inspire more individuals to consider the critical nature of web accessibility. Perhaps this article will succeed where others have not: in encouraging people to form educated opinions about web accessibility.

If you’re intrigued and wish to delve deeper into this topic, here are some of my recommended articles to kickstart your journey:

• We Are All Disabled!
• 4 Simple Steps to Make Your Website Accessible
• Stop Using Divs for Buttons!

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Chapter 1: How Blind & Low Vision Users Use Computers & Smart Phones

In this informative video, you will learn how individuals with blindness and low vision utilize technology to navigate the web and communicate.

Chapter 2: Blindness and Visual Accessibility

This video addresses the experiences of blind individuals and emphasizes the importance of visual accessibility in digital environments.