Twitch’s Post

The American Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in the early 1990s before the meteoric growth of the consumer internet, did not include technical standards for web accessibility. However, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, last updated in 2023, provide a widely accepted framework to ensure websites are inclusive and free of barriers that prevent or inhibit access for individuals with disabilities. Despite this, over 96% of the homepages of the million most trafficked websites are not compliant with these standards. TestParty aims to change this with its AI-powered platform that automates accessibility testing, training, remediation, and monitoring. The platform enables developers to create web experiences that are accessible to individuals with physical and situational disabilities, ensuring equal access to functionality and information. Previously, ensuring a website met accessibility standards required manual testing, which is expensive and time-consuming, and often outsourced to external consultants. Now, with TestParty, engineering teams can build with ADA compliance in mind from the onset. AlleyWatch caught up with TestParty Founder and CEO Michael Bervell to learn more about the business, the company's strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more...

The American Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in the early 1990s before the meteoric growth of the consumer internet, did not include technical standards for web accessibility. However, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, last updated in 2023, provide a widely accepted framework to ensure websites are inclusive and free of barriers that prevent or inhibit access for individuals with disabilities. Despite this, over 96% of the homepages of the million most trafficked websites are not compliant with these standards. TestParty aims to change this with its AI-powered platform that automates accessibility testing, training, remediation, and monitoring. The platform enables developers to create web experiences that are accessible to individuals with physical and situational disabilities, ensuring equal access to functionality and information. Previously, ensuring a website met accessibility standards required manual testing, which is expensive and time-consuming, and often outsourced to external consultants. Now, with TestParty, engineering teams can build with ADA compliance in mind from the onset. AlleyWatch caught up with TestParty Founder and CEO Michael Bervell to learn more about the business, the company's strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more...

Consider the Disabled Community.. So recently, I have been busy with this project for a Hospital and after my reserch, I saw the need to put into consideration the DISABLED. I made Voice to action available on this real Hospital mobile app to enable DISABLED people effectively use the app, and other features.... From my research, I would want to share with you why consider DISABLED in mobile app usage!! 🔖 Designing for accessibility benefits all users: Inclusive design principles often lead to improvements for everyone. Features such as larger text, clear contrast, and intuitive navigation enhance the user experience for all users, not just those with disabilities. By focusing on accessibility, you can create a more user-friendly app that caters to a wider audience. 🔖 Understanding diverse users improves app design: Involving people with disabilities in the design and testing process provides valuable insights into user needs and preferences. Their feedback can help identify usability issues and uncover opportunities for innovation. By understanding the challenges faced by users with disabilities, you can create a more robust and user-centric app that meets the needs of a wider audience. 🔖 It's morally right to ensure everyone can use technology: Technology has become an integral part of daily life, and everyone deserves equal access to its benefits. By designing inclusive apps, you promote digital equity and contribute to a more inclusive society. It is a moral obligation to ensure that people with disabilities can fully participate in the digital world. 🔖 Expand your potential customer base by including people with disabilities: The global population of people with disabilities is significant, representing a substantial market. By designing your app with accessibility in mind, you open your product to a larger potential customer base. This can lead to increased revenue and brand loyalty. I hope this little points of mine would give you deeper insights on this!! So glad I was able to share with you. What's your take on this?

🚀 Explore the Impact of Digital Accessibility through Real Stories Looking to deepen your understanding of why digital accessibility matters? Check out this powerful video series from the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI): User Stories – How People with Disabilities Use Digital Technology. https://lnkd.in/g6vWSf2Y These short, digestible stories bring you closer to the lived experiences of individuals with disabilities and how they navigate the digital world. From Marta, a Deaf-blind marketing assistant, to Ian, a data scientist with autism, these narratives connect us to the real people behind accessibility efforts. 💡 Why watch? Understand the challenges faced by web users with disabilities. Learn how accessible design empowers independence and inclusion. Be inspired to create digital experiences that work for everyone. 🎥 Each story is a reminder that accessibility isn’t just about guidelines—it’s about people. Let’s make the web a better place for all. #DigitalAccessibility #Inclusion #A11y #AccessibilityMatters

The Arvada Chamber of Commerce is thrilled to announce a new feature on its website that makes navigation more accessible for people with visual and cognitive disabilities. The Arvada Chamber’s site now includes a widget that offers people with disabilities a way to customize their navigational experience according to their personal needs. Users can choose a disability profile like “Vision Impaired Profile” and simultaneously activate all relevant adjustments. Alternatively, users can enable singular adjustments like increasing font sizes, change color contrasts, stop animations, and more. This new feature aligns with the Arvada Chamber’s core values to create an inclusive business environment where everyone can access information and services. Today, about 23% of adults in Colorado have a disability, according to the CDC. “In today’s digital age, having an ADA-compliant website is not just a recommendation; it’s a necessity,” says Lisa Bengtson, Founder and CEO of BlendWorks Digital Marketing. Learn more about this feature below! https://lnkd.in/g5sfe5Qr

You can only grow your marketplace if people with disabilities help develop your products! As specified in the first post on «lack of context», it all depends on the following factors: 1️⃣ Lack of context 2️⃣ Adapted logic 3️⃣ Insufficient simulation Link to the post «1️⃣ Missing context» https://lnkd.in/dbN4uhsW 2️⃣ Adapted logic Most managers, content creators, designers and developers have no idea how the logic, thinking and navigation of, e.g. blind people works! Things designed by people without disabilities follow a logic based on visual experiences and stimuli. I bet you haven't tried to reach the footer of a website with «tab navigation» yet. Tab navigation is a frequently used alternative to a mouse. Keys such as «Tab» are used to move forwards,«Enter» to open content or «Shift + Tab» to go back. If the website uses «Infinite Scroll» this will be a difficult task. «Infinite scroll» means that the website is constantly loading new content.  Therefore, keyboard navigation, screen readers or other assistive technologies do not recognise where the body of the page ends and the footer begins. 👉🏽 Information architecture People with visual disabilities need different structures and navigation patterns. If we use «tab navigation», we want to be guided to hotspots, events and results quickly! This doesn't work if you have to dig through loads of content first! 👉🏽 Fun Fact Where do you think cookie banners are arranged in the tab order? Most developers follow a visual logic. And most cookie banners are visually visible at the bottom right. That's why they are sorted last in tab order.  So a user must first tab through the entire website content to reject cookies! 👉🏽 Testing Sure, you can start testing with people with disabilities. But do you really understand how blind people think and navigate? Especially if your only invest is 30 to 60 minutes to observe them. 👉🏽 Integration Integrating people with disabilities into all product teams is the way to go. Many companies complain about the shortage of skilled labour and are looking for «unicorns». How about hiring designers, developers and content managers who are people with disabilities? Product teams need to adapt software to the situational logic of these groups! This works if you are culturally responsive to these accessibility experts. Video description  Though the color contrasts on the links in the cookie banner are subterranian. LinkedIn is doing a good job with tab navigation hierarchy! The cookie banner is placed on top and entered as first element of the website. Whoever is using «tab navigation» may first enable or disable cookies.  And then move to the site's content. #UX #infinitescroll #logic #business #roi Ronny Hendriks, Stéphanie Walter, Hanna Köhler, Johannes Lehner, Hannes Robier, Claudia Bruckschwaiger, Thorsten Jonas

Why is it important to build digital products that are inclusive of all abilities? 💭 For Disability Pride Month, we interviewed UX design expert and Techscaler speaker Wojtek Kutyla about the importance of digital accessibility. Wojtek told us about his journey with Human Thing Ltd, shared his insights on creating inclusive digital products, and discussed common accessibility challenges in tech. Read the full article below 👇 #DisabilityPrideMonth #DigitalAccessibility #Inclusion #UXDesign #TechForGood

Who are the users of accessible technologies? Not all users with disabilities need accessible technologies. A person can have a disability (for example, a leg amputation) that doesn’t affect their digital experience. However, some disabilities do impact how users interact with technology. For instance, people who can’t see the screen, use a mouse, or make touch gestures may rely on assistive technologies or adaptive strategies to navigate the web. As I mentioned earlier, if you want to make your product accessible, it’s important to understand who uses accessible technologies and their experience with digital products. This knowledge can help in two key ways: First, it will give you a deeper understanding of how accessible (or inaccessible) your product truly is. Second, it allows you to see the real people behind the code, which is essential for maintaining accessibility. It's not just about numbers on dashboards; it’s about understanding the responsibility and impact of your choices on users. To start learning, you can search the internet for topics like “how do blind people use smartphones” or “how do people with disabilities play video games.” Many bloggers, disability advocates, speakers, and authors share their knowledge and experience on social media, offering valuable insights. I’m a big fan of Molly Burke https://lnkd.in/dSnNRTCV, a content creator. I love her way of conveying information — it's both easy to understand and highly informative. I recommend her videos about using technology (https://lnkd.in/dt8CG92S), the accessibility of beauty products (https://lnkd.in/dpDVESGC), and how blindness impacts her life (https://lnkd.in/dXhAgyBh). In every video, she emphasizes that she is only sharing her personal experiences and that her views may not reflect those of all blind users. This is an important point to remember: Not all users of assistive technologies have the same needs or preferences. However, each piece of knowledge you gain about them will help you improve your vision for creating accessible products.

Start embracing accessibility as a core value and a constant journey towards true inclusivity. By prioritizing accessibility, we not only enhance experiences for everyone but also ensure that people who rely on these features are fully included. Involving individuals with disabilities in the design and development process enriches our products with unique insights that can’t be learned elsewhere. Let’s move from “Nothing about us without us” to “Nothing without us,” making accessibility an integral part of everything we do. #WeThe15

Ever wonder how people with disabilities use the web? You're not alone! W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)'s new User Stories / Personas with included videos are incredibly helpful. Accessibility is all about people, so understanding how different users interact with the web is critical. #a11y #accessibility https://lnkd.in/eiW4jZRY