Understanding the audience.
SCREEN READERS
Software reading the page aloud. Users navigate by headings, links and landmarks rather than reading top to bottom.
That is why heading structure and descriptive links matter so much.
KEYBOARD ONLY
No mouse. Navigation by Tab and Enter.
Anything reachable only by hovering or clicking precisely is unusable.
SCREEN MAGNIFICATION
Enlarging part of the screen. Users see a small portion at a time, so layout that depends on seeing the whole page fails.
HIGH CONTRAST OR CUSTOM COLOURS
Browser or system settings overriding your colours. Content conveyed only by colour disappears.
TEXT ENLARGEMENT
Increasing font size. Layouts that break when text grows become unusable.
VOICE CONTROL
Speaking commands. Requires visible labels matching what the user says.
REDUCED MOTION
System settings requesting less animation. Sites ignoring that can cause genuine discomfort.
WHAT THIS MEANS
A site built only for a sighted mouse user on a large screen excludes several groups at once.
