Testimonial: Hasmukh opens up about accessibility barriers

It’s Thank You Thursday today, so we’re giving a shout out to Hasmukh for recently opening up about his accessibility issues and giving us some feedback on our own website and service. Last month, we announced the beginning of our 2018 campaign #LetsTalkResearch, where we’ll be opening up on sensitive research topics like this and showing how your honest feedback can help others in a similar situation to yourself in the future. Topics deemed as ‘sensitive’ can be subjective: what one person finds somewhat uncomfortable to discuss, another person may find it easy to talk about. It depends on the type of person we’re asking, the experiences they’ve been through, and the specific details being discussed around the topic – the term ‘one box fits all’ does not apply here!

We recently had some website updates to improve web accessibility for those with impairments, which can be a sensitive topic for some people. Hasmukh is one of our dedicated Accessibility Collective participants, so he is a regular at taking part in paid research with PFR to help improve websites for all users.

Hasmukh has a visual impairment, which means he needs assistive technology (a JAWS screen reader) to use devices, which can often flag up usability issues such as unlabelled text boxes or graphics, formatting issues or confusing layouts. People use assistive devices for all kinds of reasons; they’re often used by those with motor, cognitive, hearing or visual impairments, as well as those who prefer additional support with technology, for example those who are older or non-tech-savvy people.

Here’s what Hasmukh had to say about accessibility issues

Do companies generally consider accessibility to be a priority?

“I think larger companies do consider accessibility as a priority. It is important that service users should be invited to test a website when designing it, before making it open to the public. Just simple keywords make it easier to find information.”

Small changes such as additional keywords can make a huge difference to the usability of a website for those experiencing accessibility issues and, as Hasmukh rightly suggests, companies should be testing out their website with a range of users before making their website live.

How important is website accessibility to you?

“It is very important because it saves me time and frustration if it is accessible. It is essential to learn to use websites for various activities because it seems companies are encouraging customers to deal with them through the internet: shopping, banking, government, work, etc.”

According to a study, the average user suffers 40,000 bouts of ‘tech rage‘ throughout their life! If this is representative of the average user, imagine the additional frustrations when you have accessibility requirements and websites are not mindful of assistive devices.

It is also believed that by 2020, most of us living in the UK will have around five devices that connect to the internet. With so many different ways to now access the web through our smart devices, companies really need to start thinking about their website accessibility from all devices.

Any thoughts you have about our website updates to be more accessible, positive or negative?

“In my opinion, although PFR website is getting better and it is simple to use, there is room for improvement. I use the JAWS screen reader software to fill in the questionnaires or forms, but problems could be picked up if a researcher watched while I access it to carry out the task.”

Even we could benefit from conducting more user testing! These improvements need to be a continuous goal for companies to keep up with the ever-evolving world of technology, so the work is never truly done.

Have you heard about our Accessibility Collective? It's our dedicated research panel for people living with accessibility needs, making it easier for them to access and take part in paid research.