Why they are criticised.
WHAT THEY ARE
Products added to a site with a line of code, claiming to make it accessible automatically.
Usually a widget offering contrast and text size options.
WHAT THEY CLAIM
Compliance with standards, achieved without changing the site.
WHY ACCESSIBILITY PRACTITIONERS CRITICISE THEM
They do not fix underlying problems: missing labels, poor structure, keyboard inaccessibility.
They can interfere with the assistive technology users already have configured.
Many users of screen readers report them as unhelpful or actively obstructive.
The compliance claims are frequently overstated.
WHAT THEY ARE USEFUL FOR
Little that a properly built site does not already provide. Browsers and operating systems already offer text resizing and contrast adjustment.
THE HONEST POSITION
Fix the site. There is no substitute.
An overlay on a site with unlabelled forms and no keyboard access does not make it usable.
IF YOU ALREADY HAVE ONE
It is not causing harm in most cases, and it is not doing what you think.
Spend the subscription on fixing the underlying issues.
