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An inconvenient truth

2 minutes read

I've got to be honest about something. Perfect accessibility is impossible.

There, I've said it.

And that's absolutely fine.

You might think that while I'm saying this, I'm making excuses or lowering my standards. I'm not. I'm just acknowledging what others have whispered about as well. This is the reality and we need to accept it to make progress instead of getting stuck in a cycle of inaction.

I've see product teams freeze up entirely when they see the mountain of WCAG criteria, browser compatibility issues and assistive technology considerations. The task seems so enormous that they don't even start.

They decide instead to push accessibility to "phase two" because they want to "do it right." Often times, they mean well.

But that doesn't change the result. Nothing improves at all.

Perfectionism just becomes a socially acceptable form of procrastination.

I'd rather work on an imperfect but meaningfully accessible product than on a fully inaccessible one.

So how do you get there?

The first step is to start where you are.

Make things better today than they were yesterday. Recognise that each small fix helps real people right now.

Repeat tomorrow.

And then be honest about where you stand.

Write up an honest and clear accessibility statement that acknowledges current limitations. In it, outline improvement plans. This builds more trust than vague promises of compliance.

Did you enjoy this bite-sized message?

I send out short emails like this every day to help you gain a fresh perspective on accessibility and understand it without the jargon, so you can build more robust products that everyone can use, including people with disabilities.

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