Talking vs. Walking
May 13, 2008
Accessibility is no laughing matter (in fact, it’s a critical conversation that more of us should be having with our clients) but you have to admit that this homepage addition from Macy’s is a tad amusing:
Now, I don’t want to trivialize the technology because Easy Web seems like a fine and important innovation. That being said, there’s something just slightly off putting about placing a link for the visually impaired in a footer.
It’s also the kind of accessibility tool that requires Location, Installation and Activation before it becomes truly meaningful. If you’re visually impaired, locating that link might be a tad tricky. It is a plugin or add on, much like Acrobat Reader or Flash Player, that has to be downloaded. And at least for now, it’s only Windows and IE compatible–which I discovered after reading a lengthy bit of small print disclaimer content required for activation.
On the one hand, I feel like I should shrug and say, “Hey, something is better than nothing.” On the other, doesn’t it seem kinda hard? Wouldn’t it be ideal if visually impaired users were considered, not only in the design of the site but in the functionality of the browser itself? Shouldn’t they just be able to visit macy’s.com and auto-magically find it a positive, easy to navigate experience?
Others with far greater knowledge on the subject of accessibility than me have written eloquent essays about the importance of striving towards a truly accessible Web. As an industry we tend to focus a lot of those conversations around the idea of access alone–making computers and internet available to everyone physically. We overlook the fact that for many people with access, the Web is still largely inaccessible for a variety of challenging reasons.
I’ll give Macy’s credit for at least acknowledging the need. Though I do cynically wonder if this particular statement isn’t more talk than walk.
*mad props to boss Susan for pointing out this page.