Forrester
Contributor
Enterprise Tech
Let’s get straight to the point: There’s no quick fix for making your digital experiences accessible. That’s true even if your approach to accessibility is narrowly focused on being compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the laws in your region of the world.
Many companies these days are tempted by what are often referred to as “accessibility overlay” products that promise to get a company’s website compliant quickly â sometimes in as little as 24 hours – without touching the underlying source code. And I understand why: Creating accessible experiences isn’t easy. But there are some important questions to ask yourself first.
Let’s start with the basics.
What Is An Accessibility Overlay Product?
Overlay vendors claim that their products can make a website accessible automatically. Most of these overlay products consist of two components:
Overlay products are typically marketed as a quick way to achieve compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to avoid being the next company to get slapped with a digital accessibility lawsuit. And they’re particularly appealing because they’re inexpensive and can be stood up quickly. Popular overlay products include accessiBe, AudioEye, and Userway, but there are many more.
There’s intense debate in the world of accessibility (see the Overlay Fact Sheet) on the advantages and disadvantages of accessibility overlays. Why? There are critical problems with these products that you should be aware of:
Based on our research, the answer is:
This post was written by Principal Analyst Gina Bhawalkar, and it originally appeared
Original at https://www.forbes.com/sites/forrester/2021/05/27/whats-wrong-with-quick-fix-products-for-digital-accessibility/
