According to the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, there are about 50 million people in the United States with some kind of disability. We also have an aging population, who have their own accessibility issues. And finally, the odds are that sooner or later, most of us will have to cope with some kind of temporary or permanent limitation through illness or injury. People who fall into these categories rely on web accessibility and making sure that they can use your shop isn’t just the right thing to do; it also makes good business sense.
We’ve got over a hundred apps in the Shopify App Store, and Acessify is today’s featured app. It’s a handy tool for checking the accessibility of your shop and helping ensure that customers who use screen readers and other assistive technologies with their computer can use it. We asked Brian Getting, the creator of Accessify, and we’re sharing his answers with you.
What does Accessify do?
Accessify automatically scans your Shopify shop each week for accessibility issues. When accessibility issues are found, it sends you an email report showing which pages had issues, what those issues are and links to more information about resolving them.
What are Accessify’s key features?
- It saves shopowners time by automating accessibility scans.
- It helps shopowners address accessibility issues.
- It provides shopowners with records of their stores’ accessibility status.
Why should shopowners use Accessify?
Shopowners should use Accessify because there are tens of millions of customers with disabilities in the United States alone. Worldwide the number of potential customers that have disabilities affecting their ability to interact with a computer (visual impairments, broken hand, and so on) is staggering, and general the PWD (People with Disabilities) community relies on the Internet even more heavily than the average customer.
There’s also the matter of accessibility regulations varying from country to country, and Accessify can help with documenting accessibility efforts.
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Brian Getting, and I operate Terra Firma Design & Consulting located in Newport, Oregon. We are also the people behind Chimpified, another Shopify app.
Where can I find out more about Accessify?
You can find out more about Accessify on its page in Shopify’s App Store.