For a lot of the disabled, getting through a typical website is beyond challenging. It’s impossible. Amy, for example, prefers to shop for her kids online. It’s easier than getting someone to take her to the store and help her identify the products she needs. On the WalMart site, she is able to find products, but she can’t order; that requires a mouse click. A mouse is an essentially useless tool to a blind person, Amy told me.
(Incidentally, Amy won’t shop at Target at all. The only reason the iconic retailer’s site is compliant with the accessibility standards established by the World Wide Web consortium is that they were ordered to by a federal judge following blog.holtz.com
A persuasive, closely-reasoned and passionate post by Shel Holtz on the continuing failure of many web developers – including those for large retailers – to make their sites accessible to the visually impaired.
I’ve had arguments that have left me banging my head on the table (thankfully, not with clients) over accessibility. Otherwise intelligent people still advance the suggestion that blind people shouldn’t even use the web. Gaaah.
