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Blind and Visually Impaired Community

Full History - 2019 - 05 - 17 - ID#bpp94w
2
Aspiring interaction designer would like to know where to get started (self.Blind)
submitted by anupulu
I currently study interaction design, and I've had a course on accessibility. It was a great and inspiring course, and I learned a lot about web standards and about designing for all / universal design.

However, from a practical point of view, I'm not sure what's the best way to start working on accessibility improvements at my job (our product is a web based booking platform). For example, if I want to get our platform tested and analysed by a blind person, how should I do it? Where do I find visually impaired people to help me & what kind of tools could I use? Or could I get started with some automated tools? The problem I see with automated tools is that something relevant might go unnoticed - it's always better to get feedback from real people. :)

Thank you!

Edit: I mentioned the link to the platform here, but removed it now. If anyone reads this and is interested in giving feedback, I'll be happy to share the link again as a private message. Thank you for understanding.
CloudyBeep 3 points 4y ago
It's good that you're aware of the limits of automated testing. In your course, you may have come across the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. About 75% of the guidelines simply cannot be tested using automated tests, and automated solutions also have the possibility of false positives and false negatives.

You should also have a strategy for improvement, especially if you're not the one who makes decisions on when accessibility issues should be made in favour of new features. It's great to have results from testing, but they're worthless if they will never be implemented, or partially implemented.
anupulu [OP] 1 points 4y ago
Yes, there definitely needs to be a strategy. And a plan.
SpikeTheCookie 1 points 4y ago
I have low vision (legally blind - Retinitis Pigmentosa). I use the computer for work, so I routinely am able to see websites and do my work on the screen, unless there are some major accessibility issues.

Right off the bat...

1) This website comes up with giant bed picture and white text on top of the busy image. It's too busy to read the bullet points. I just skip over them.

​

2) Anywhere on the page where you use the med-light-gray font on white background, there's not enough contrast to read, so I skip.


Ex: "Select the date & time you'd like your cleaning lady to show up."


Fyi, my specialty is conversion copy. Not that you asked... but here's a tip. It would be MUCH stronger to have your hero image/copy (above the fold/before scrolling) be...
\* \* \*

Nav bar then and Batmaid picture (great picture!). Then this copy.

## Trusted home cleaners booked in a blink of an eye

## Ready to book your cleaning lady now?

📷

* Hand-picked cleaners
* Your personal cleaner
* Declared & insured
* Number 1 in cleaning
* Strong customer support
* Non-binding contract

Zip Code Plus "**Let's go!" button.**

**\* \* \***

​

As it is, it's just informational, with no CTA in sight, making it unclear who this site is for or what you're supposed to do next. And as you know visitors click away by default if it's not instantly clear that the site provides a match to what they want.

​

Reading websites is an inherently passive activity. A great CTA question like, "Ready to book your cleaning lady now?" takes visitors from passive and flips them into an active decision-making mode instantly. Well done, so move this question up.

FYI: you are a long way from being global, so indicating country or geological area (and where you're expanding next, or a timeline for global domination LOL) can keep people from becoming frustrated, because their US Google Results were wrong about sending you to this site, and "this was a waste of time."


Really nice service. Wish it were available in my state/country. :-)
anupulu [OP] 2 points 4y ago
Thank you for the feedback!
SpikeTheCookie 1 points 4y ago
Yes! What /u/bradley22 said. Let us know if we can help you.

​

And... you also need to create a SOP for your company with the quality-oriented process and path for usability and accessibility testing, so that you know exactly what is required of testing (time and internal resources), and you build a repeatable process, as every change and version will need to go through this to make sure something didn't break. ;-)
[deleted] 1 points 4y ago
[deleted]
bradley22 1 points 4y ago
Didn’t you write this post on a subreddit for the VI/blind? *smiles*

Why not ask us to test your site and give feedback?

I’d not mind at all.
anupulu [OP] 1 points 4y ago
I was being shy. 🙂
I'll send you a message.
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