White House Embraces WCAG with Accessibility Updates
The Biden administration has revamped Whitehouse.gov
President Biden's administration wasted no time revamping the official Whitehouse.gov website and gaining immediate praise from the accessibility community. The government website now features a dark mode, font size options, and a commitment to achieving WCAG 2.1 compliance. "These guidelines not only help make web content accessible to users with sensory, cognitive and mobility disabilities, but ultimately to all users, regardless of ability."
Online Accessibility Act not passed during 116th session
The Online Accessibility Act that was introduced back in October 2020 in bipartisan fashion failed to pass. Proponents suggested that specifying digital accessibility guidelines that would govern the websites of businesses and public accommodations would ad clarity and improve accessibility, while reducing the number of predatory lawsuits. Opposition to the bill, particularly by accessibility and disability rights advocates, was fairly strong. They noted that the bill, which would have officially made the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines the standard under the Americans with Disabilities Act, would do more harm than good and actually limit the rights of people with disabilities.
Rotating carousels have low engagement and are not accessible
The cutting-edge promise of website carousels has unfortunately evolved to a 1% engagement rate and the association of their content as ads. They're also hard to make accessible for screen reader users, keyboard users, and mobile users. Columns, videos, and focused messages can attract more attention from your target audience while being much more accessible.
