PurpleByte

13/08/2025

That old 90s internet saying "if you build it, they will come" needs an update for 2025.

Because when you build without accessibility, you're literally telling 20% of potential customers they can't come. Or browse. Or buy.

Good accessibility isn't about being nice (though that's a bonus). It's about not leaving money on the table.

11/08/2025

Your business might be missing out on serving people with disabilities, and it could be down to how things are set up rather than anything else.

Think about it this way: those accessibility challenges aren't necessarily part of having a disability. They often pop up because of how we've designed our online spaces. When businesses build with everyone in mind right from the beginning, these barriers tend to disappear naturally, without changing what you offer or how you deliver it.

This transforms accessibility from being about medical conditions to being about how society creates or removes barriers. It's quite a fundamental rethink of how we approach making things work for everyone.

What are your thoughts on making digital spaces truly accessible for all? You can learn more about it in the post below:

Discover how adopting the social model of disability can break barriers, enhance accessibility, and unlock significant business opportunities.

10/06/2025

Proud to have been invited to speak at FreeAgent internal event about video accessibility and the power of captions. As one of the UK's leading accounting software platforms, it's refreshing to see their commitment to digital inclusion.

What stood out? Their genuine dedication to accessibility isn't just customer-facing, it's woven into their internal culture. From development teams to customer support, everyone at FreeAgent understands that accessibility isn't a checkbox exercise, it's about ensuring equal access for all users.

As a long-term customer and accessibility advocate, it's inspiring to see a local Edinburgh tech company taking such meaningful steps toward digital inclusion. While there's always room for growth, FreeAgent's proactive approach sets a strong example for other tech companies.

Want to learn more about making your digital content accessible? Let's connect and discuss how we can make technology work for everyone.

15/04/2025

There is growing trend of vendors promising your products complete accessibility, which means it will be accessible to everyone. But 100% accessibility is a myth.

Here is why it’s impossible and what you should aim for instead:

Learn why achieving 100% accessibility is a myth and why practical strategies for continuous improvement and realistic accessibility goals is better.

11/04/2025

If there is an opportunity to edit a code, it’s one of the many perfect scenarios to make your product more accessible.

So use that opportunity (and responsibility) wisely.

29/01/2025

What costs and ROI metrics should you consider for web accessibility?

In this post, you can look at all kinds of metrics that you can practically measure and track to maximise your accessibility investment.

Learn about the costs and ROI metrics for implementing web accessibility to better understand how you can benchmark and monitor your metrics.

24/01/2025

Digital accessibility isn't just about disability, it's about recognising and embracing human diversity. When we design inclusively, we create better experiences for everyone.

From parents juggling a baby while browsing, to commuters on shaky trains, to older adults navigating complex interfaces, accessible design simply works better.

06/12/2024

It doesn’t matter why you are designing what you are designing, there will always be a human on the other side.

So design for real people, not perfect scenarios.

05/12/2024

'tis the season where brands go over the top with their Christmas-themed content by making them so inaccessible. And this one caught my eye.

As someone who gets various food produce delivered from local businesses and farmers, I can somewhat sympathise with those that does not a department dedicated in optimising their platform and making as intuitive and easy-to-use as possible. That's expensive and food producers struggle as it is.

But I would argue that everyone has the time and budget to make sure that their content are accessible, regardless of who you are. And this one from a milk delivery company has caught my eye.

Even as someone who is not blind, it was a struggle for me to read the banner. I really had to take my time. At first, I thought it was an image uploaded. But then I realised the background image was uploaded in CSS. So I'm assuming that has the budget to get some who is technical enough to upload that, which means that person should be able to adjust the CSS properties to make it easier to read with relative ease. But they didn’t.

Maybe one can make an argument that it's screen-reader friendly. It's not enough of an argument because not everyone who is blind depends nor can use a screen reader. And it’s affecting everyone. But let's go with this argument.

I used VoiceOver to test it and quickly ran into problems. I realised that the first heading at the top is using H4 and seemingly used for styling purpose. And the generic use of 'click here' is not making obvious enough for screen readers on where the page is going. So I immediately realised that it’s not screen-reader friendly. But there's no point for them to go to the next page, as it contained an image of calendars…with no alt text and limited text-based equivalent of the calendar. 🤷🏽

So what could they have done? Many things. But at the very least, be aware of how patterns and colour contrast in the background can make words illegible for many people.

I can't share a link for you to view, as that banner is behind a login. But looking at the image attached, how are you finding it?

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ID: the top half is a Christmas-themed banner where there is a heavy snow in the background and white text on front of it. The text (barely) reads “Cheers to a Dairy Merry Christmas 🎅🏻 Can you believe the time?! Neither can we. In any case, let's talk Crimbo deliveries. Our team work hard all year round to get some of the countries freshest milk from our dairy to your doorstep- and we want to ensure they have some time to rest and recharge with friends and family. With that in mind, your deliveries will be changing over the holidays. Click here to see when to expect your deliveries over Christmas & New Year.”

The bottom half of the image is the browser's web developer tool showing the HTML and how the title is in H4, and the CSS on the right is displaying how a background image has been used.

28/11/2024

Everything related to website can be expensive. Content, design, security…and yes, accessibility.

But do you know when it is especially more expensive to implement accessibility? After the launch of your projects.

Consider accessibility as early as possible to maximise reach and minimise cost.

25/11/2024

Web accessibility and SEO (search engine optimisation): two disciplines that intertwine with each other more than you might think.

We've explored this powerful connection in our latest article, revealing how these practices complement and enhance each other in surprising ways.

Key insights from our research:
- Semantic heading structures serve dual purposes: guiding screen reader users while creating clear content hierarchies for search engines
- Case study: HubSpot achieved a 779% increase in image search traffic through improved alt text implementation
- Clean, semantic HTML strengthens both accessibility compliance and search engine comprehension
- Mobile responsiveness isn't just about WCAG compliance—it's fundamental to both user experience and search performance

While accessibility isn't explicitly a ranking factor, our findings demonstrate a clear pattern: websites built with accessibility in mind naturally perform better in search rankings. And this aligns perfectly with the SEO principle of building for users first. After all, both disciplines share the same core goal: creating better digital experiences for everyone.

But one thing for sure: accessibility is always about humans. With no exceptions.

The key takeaway? Implementing strong accessibility practices naturally enhances your SEO performance, and vice versa. It's a win-win approach to digital excellence.

Want to dive deeper into this connection between web accessibility and SEO? Read our post here:

How does web accessibility and SEO overlap through POUR principles? Learn how alt text, semantic HTML, and others can boost your search rankings and UX.

21/11/2024

Accessible design signals to your customers that you care about everyone. 💜

When your website works for everyone, it speaks louder than any mission statement.