Three myths about screen readers

It comes up on almost every project, usually later than it should. A few things about screen readers that get repeated more often than they get checked.

The cost of retrofitting accessibility is several times the cost of building it in. Budget a little time for it every quarter and it never becomes a project of its own.

“It only matters for big sites”

Test with one and the theory becomes obvious. The reasoning matters more than the rule, because the rule has exceptions. Anything you cannot measure here, you are deciding by taste, which is fine as long as everyone knows it.

“We can deal with it after launch”

Sometimes true, usually expensive. The reasoning matters more than the rule, because the rule has exceptions.

“Our platform handles it”

Announced changes need live regions. Small and consistent beats large and occasional here. Budget a little time for it every quarter and it never becomes a project of its own.

The short version

Accessibility work almost always improves the experience for people who have no impairment at all. Three things worth confirming about screen readers before you move on:

• Someone can say what the current setup is without going to look
• Test with one and the theory becomes obvious — and you know whether that is true here
• There is a way to tell whether the last change to this helped

If any of that sounds like a description of your current setup, it is fixable.