Do you use plugins on your organisation’s website that are meant to improve website accessibility for people with disabilities?
If so, it is worth knowing that such tools can cause more problems than benefits. Although at first glance these plugins may look like a quick solution, using them often does not solve the most important accessibility problems. In some cases, they may even breach data protection requirements or make it harder for people with disabilities to use the website effectively.
Read on to find out why these plugins are not an ideal solution and what the real website accessibility problems are.
Website accessibility plugins: overview and key problems
- What is a website accessibility plugin?
- Advantages and disadvantages of plugin “widgets”
- Advantages and disadvantages of automatic fixes
- Compliance with accessibility standards
- Protection of personal data
- User opinion
- Conclusion
What are website accessibility plugins?
Website accessibility plugins are third-party technologies that attempt to improve a website’s adaptation for people with disabilities. Most often, they add extra code (e.g. JavaScript) that adjusts the website so that it meets certain accessibility standards or helps people with disabilities use the content more easily.
These plugins first appeared in the 1990s with products that added text-to-speech functionality. Later plugins offered more options, such as increasing font size or changing colour contrast. The latest plugins aim to automatically fix website errors that may make it harder to use assistive technologies.
Advantages and disadvantages of plugin “widgets”
Some plugins offer “widgets” that allow website visitors to change the website’s appearance themselves, for example by increasing font size or changing contrast. Although this may seem like a useful feature, for many people with disabilities these tools are unnecessary, because they already use specialised software or devices that help them browse all websites.
- Advantages:
- May help some visitors by providing quick appearance changes.
- Disadvantages:
- For many people with disabilities, such features are unnecessary because they already have their own adaptation tools.
- “Widgets” do not solve the main accessibility problems, such as poor website structure or poorly configured elements, which need to be addressed directly in the website code.
List of poorly functioning plugins:
- AccessiBe
- Accessibility Adapter
- Accessiblelink
- Accessiplus
- Accessiway
- Adally
- Adapte Mon Web (Adapt my Web)
- AdaptifY
- Allyable
- Alchemy*
- Amaze
- AudioEye
- Bakh Fix
- DIGIaccess
- Eye-Able.com
- Equally.ai
- EqualWeb
- FACIL’iti
- MaxAccess
- Poloda AI
- Purple Lens
- ReciteME
- RentCafe
- Sentinel*
- TruAbilities
- True Accessibility
- UsableNet Assistive
- UserWay
- WebAbility
Advantages and disadvantages of automatic fixes
Some plugins offer automatic fixing of website errors. For example, they can add alternative text to images or correct improper form markup. However, these fixes are not always accurate and often do not fix more complex website problems.
- Advantages:
- Can solve simple errors, such as missing image descriptions.
- Disadvantages:
- Ineffective at fixing more complex problems, such as form controls or keyboard navigation.
- Modern websites using complex technologies (e.g. “React” or “Angular”) often cannot be properly fixed by plugins.
- A plugin may slow down website loading or interfere with assistive technologies.
Compliance with accessibility standards
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Many plugins claim that they can help websites comply with EU accessibility standards, such as WCAG 2.0 or later. However, it is important to understand that full compliance can be achieved only by fixing all website shortcomings directly, not just by superficially installing a plugin.
Website compliance requires that all standard requirements are met. Since plugins cannot solve all problems, they cannot ensure full compliance.
Protection of personal data
Some plugins even create privacy risks, because they may detect when a website visitor uses assistive technologies, such as screen readers. This can reveal information about the visitor’s disability without their consent.
- Privacy risk:
- Automatic detection of assistive technologies may breach rules such as GDPR.
- Some plugins track user settings across different websites, creating additional privacy issues.
User opinion
Many people with disabilities have expressed dissatisfaction with plugins because they often interfere with assistive technologies functioning properly. Some users even actively block these tools because they hinder more than they help.
Conclusion
No plugin currently on the market can ensure full website compliance with accessibility standards. Real website accessibility problems must be addressed directly in the website code, rather than using plugins as a quick but incomplete solution.