Hearing your own site.
WHY BOTHER
Reading about screen readers tells you little. Using one for ten minutes tells you a great deal.
WHAT IS AVAILABLE
Screen readers are built into most operating systems and cost nothing to try.
WHAT TO DO
Turn it on, close your eyes or turn off the monitor, and try to complete a task on your site.
Find your contact details. Submit a form. Find a product.
WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER
Images announced by filename Links announced as "link" with no description Forms where you cannot tell what a field wants Headings that make no sense in sequence Content in an order that does not match the visual layout
EXPECT IT TO BE DIFFICULT
Screen readers take practice. Your difficulty is partly inexperience.
What matters is whether the information is there at all.
WHAT THIS IS NOT
A substitute for testing with actual users who rely on assistive technology.
It is a way to find obvious failures cheaply.
TIME REQUIRED
Twenty minutes, once, changes how you think about your site.
