The Hidden Dangers of using Web Accessibility Overlays and Plugins for Your Website

Web accessibility is an essential responsibility for every website owner. Ensuring that your site is usable by everyone, including people with disabilities, isn’t just a legal obligation – it’s the right thing to do.

As awareness of the importance of web accessibility grows, more businesses are taking steps to make their websites inclusive. This is a positive trend, but in the rush to meet accessibility standards, some website owners are turning to quick fixes like accessibility overlays and plugins instead of investing in a thorough accessibility audit. While these tools might seem like a convenient solution, they often fall short of delivering true accessibility, potentially doing more harm than good.

This article will help you understand what these tools actually do, why they fall short and how relying on them can expose your website to legal risks and alienate the very users you’re trying to support.

What are Accessibility Overlays and Plugins?

Accessibility overlays and plugins are software tools designed to automatically modify or add elements to web pages in an effort to make them more accessible to users with disabilities. These tools are often marketed as easy, one-click solutions that help websites meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) without requiring significant changes to the site’s underlying code or design.

Common features offered by these tools include screen reader support, keyboard navigation enhancements, text resizing options, colour contrast adjustments and automated alt text generation for images.

Why Websites May Seek to Use Them

The appeal of accessibility overlays and plugins is understandable. They are often promoted as cost-effective and time-saving solutions, making them attractive to businesses that may lack the budget or technical expertise to invest in a comprehensive accessibility audit and remediation process.

For many website owners, the promise of quickly making their site accessible and avoiding potential legal issues related to non-compliance with accessibility laws is highly appealing. However, while these tools might seem like a quick fix, they can create a false sense of security, leading businesses to believe their site is fully accessible when significant issues remain unaddressed. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is – and accessibility overlays are no exception.

What These Companies Sell vs. What They Deliver

Accessibility overlays are often sold as comprehensive solutions for making a website compliant with accessibility standards. However, the reality is far less reassuring. These tools frequently fail to deliver on their promises, leading to a frustrating experience for users with disabilities.

Here’s why:

Limited Scope of Fixes – Accessibility overlays generally focus on surface-level fixes, such as adding alt text to images or enabling basic keyboard navigation. While these features are helpful, they only address a small part of what true web accessibility entails. More complex requirements, like ensuring a logical content structure or properly implementing ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) landmarks, are typically beyond the capabilities of these tools. ARIA landmarks help users with disabilities, especially those using screen readers, navigate between different sections of a webpage. If these landmarks are missing or improperly used, users may struggle to find the information they need. Therefore, while accessibility overlays might offer a quick solution, they don’t address the deeper barriers that truly make a website accessible.

Inconsistent Performance – Accessibility overlays often struggle with inconsistent performance because they rely on automated processes that can easily miss or misinterpret critical elements. For example, they might generate vague or incorrect alt text for images or fail to properly label interactive elements like buttons and forms. This inconsistency can leave users with disabilities frustrated, as they may encounter unlabelled buttons, inaccessible forms or other barriers that prevent them from navigating the site effectively. Instead of providing a seamless experience, these tools can create new obstacles, leading to a poor user experience and potentially causing users to abandon the site altogether.

Legal Risks – A recent class-action lawsuit against AccessiBe, a popular provider of accessibility overlays, highlights the legal risks of relying on these tools. Users in the lawsuit claimed that AccessiBe’s overlay didn’t provide the level of accessibility promised and actually made things worse for people with disabilities by interfering with assistive technologies. This case shows that simply adding an overlay to your website doesn’t guarantee legal protection and might still leave your site vulnerable to lawsuits.

False Sense of Compliance – Perhaps the most concerning aspect of these tools is the false sense of compliance they create. Website owners may install these tools and assume that their site is now fully accessible and compliant with legal standards. However, in reality, these overlays often only address superficial issues, leaving significant accessibility barriers unaddressed. This false confidence can be particularly dangerous because it can lead to complacency. Website owners might neglect to conduct thorough accessibility audits or fail to make necessary, deeper changes to their site’s design and functionality. As a result, users with disabilities may continue to face challenges when trying to navigate the site, from unreadable content to inaccessible forms and buttons.

Real Accessibility Requires Real Solutions

While accessibility overlays and plugins might seem like a quick fix, relying on these shortcuts leaves your website vulnerable to legal action and risks significant financial and reputational damage. The long-term consequences of ignoring proper accessibility far outweigh the initial investment in getting it right from the start.

To truly protect your website, your users and your business, it’s essential to invest in a comprehensive accessibility audit and manual testing. Doing so identifies both visible and underlying issues that can affect users with disabilities, ensuring that your site meets all necessary standards.

At Priority Pixels, we understand that achieving full web accessibility is a complex and ongoing process. Instead of relying on ineffective shortcuts, we advocate for real solutions that make a genuine difference in the user experience.

If you’re serious about making your website accessible to everyone, we can help ensure that your site is both compliant and truly user-friendly. Contact us today to find out more about how we can support your accessibility efforts.