a11y and me by barbajoe

posted on: Jul 12, 2024 Share

TLDR: a11y makes everything better

It's often said that by focusing on accessibility we improve everyone's lives. I have found that to be true in a shocking array of scenarios and I'd like to give you a few examples that I found particularly interesting.

Sidewalk Ramps and Notifications

I'll start with a real-world example: sidewalk ramps. Those small ramps at crosswalks where the sidewalk angles down to meet the road and typically have a bumpy texture.

These benefit a shocking range of people. The blind, those with children in strollers, anyone using crutches or a scooter, small dogs, anyone needing to use a walker (such as the elderly or someone with a foot/leg injury), and the list goes on and on; it even benefits people who are simply clumsy (such as me).

The notification noises that are installed in most crosswalks now also benefit all of these people. Whether you're blind and need it to know when it is safe to cross, or someone with small children and are distracted by keeping an eye on them, or someone who is simply easily distracted by random butterflies (like myself 😅).

These simple adjustments to an everyday interface, something we all encounter regularly, make everyone's life better.

HTML Buttons

Moving into my area of expertise, let's talk about the web.

Historically, to make their web page equitable, a web developer would need to manually code every possible interaction event to make a simple button work. Did the user hit the enter key? Did they click the button with their mouse? Did they press the space key? What if they were using an assistive technology and it did something completely different? Web developers would need to know about all that and code for it. Now, all a web developer needs to know is to use a default button element and fill in the click event handler.

This benefits not just those using assistive technology, but it also simplifies developers jobs because we don't have to know about and handle so many unique use-cases. It even benefits fully abled users of the web as all users interact with the web slightly differently. Maybe you prefer to use your mouse, that's handled. Maybe you prefer to navigate using your keyboard, that's also handled. Maybe you're one of the countless people with carpel tunnel and don't use a mouse or keyboard, that's also handled!

Modern technology is magic.

Color

As one final example that covers the digital and physical worlds, let's discuss color.

I am red-green color blind. This isn't a huge deal most of the time, but as red and green tend to bleed together in my vision, it can cause issues when a website emphasizes something as good or bad. In the physical world, this is why stop signs are vibrant red and octagon-shaped, whereas caution signs are vibrant yellow and diamond-shaped.

The history of road signs is fascinating because there were so many failures as they tried different things to improve road safety. This is also why traffic lights are (almost) all the same. My grandmother used to tell us scary stories of driving with my grandfather, who saw in shades of grey and could not tell a green light from a red light. When they went to a town with the lights in a different order, he would inevitably drive through a red light as he couldn't tell the difference.

All this to say, shape, color, and consistency have become essential in road safety, and the web is slowly starting to do the same. As a software engineer, I require the web to do my job and pay my bills. Hospitals use the web to communicate and store information. And although you don't have multi-ton vehicles right next to you on the web superhighway, your life may depend on your doctor getting the correct information from a college on the other side of the planet.

And so much more

The examples available are practically endless once your eyes are opened to them. And what I want to communicate with all of this is that by simply being aware and considerate, you make the world a better place for others and yourself. It takes a lot of getting used to, but it's so, so much better for all of us.

Good luck out there.