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Overlays are Bad

Overlays are Bad

UX + Accessibility

Homer Gaines, CPACC's photo
Homer Gaines, CPACC
·Dec 23, 2022·

1 min read

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Several companies have bought into the idea that accessibility widgets such as overlays are their saving grace when in fact, overlays do more harm than good. According to Usablenet's year-end report, companies using widgets ( a.k.a overlays ) received 575 lawsuits which is a 36% jump over last year. If your company is using an overlay to "fix" accessibility issues with your product, I invite you to read https://overlayfactsheet.com and reconsider. The best solution is to perform an accessibility audit and update any accessibility issues found. Speaking as a Front-end Engineer and certified accessibility professional, I understand the challenges teams face when having to update legacy code. I've been there, in fact, that space is where I spend most of my time. So in that same light, as an engineer, I know it's not impossible. It takes time, but it's not impossible. All we have to do is right bad code.

 
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