Il faut simplement se servir des deux mains

The door in the building my dad lives in is faulty. I am not entirely sure what the issue is, but it’s hard to open at times. It’s a known problem and it’s recurring but unpredictable. Sometimes the door opens with no issues at all, sometimes it’s really hard.

You just need to use two hands

Translation from the French title

That is a reply in the condo chat about the issue. You just need to use two hands to open the door.

Blatant disregard for accessibility is everywhere folks, not just in software. This person is a professional: they manage buildings, in fact, several buildings. And yet, here we are, you just need two hands.

The same happens in web development all the damn time.

  • The font size is very small. You just need to zoom the browser to 125%.
  • This link is not underlined. You just need to accept new design trends.
  • This UI is inoperable with keys. You just need to find a workaround.
  • This text doesn’t make sense with a screen reader. You just need to change software.

How about you, professionals – building managers and web developers alike – do your damn work? Accessibility is not an afterthought.

Repeat after me. Accessibility is not an afterthought.

Accessibility is not an afterthought.

Accessibility is not an afterthought.

Accessibility is not an afterthought.

Accessibility is not an afterthought.

Accessibility is not an afterthought.

Now go fix that inaccessible code you have already written and the next time one of the designers in your team presents you some Figma prototypes that would require a very complex set of steps to perform basic operations you set them straight.

You don’t just need two hands, you need to educate yourself and think of accessibility first and shiny! new! toys! later.

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