5 Things We Learned Making Our Gear Guides Accessible
Earlier this year we set out to review every page on our site for accessibility. Here's what surprised us most along the way.
1. Contrast matters more than you'd think
Several of our "subtle" gray text choices looked fine to us on a bright monitor, but failed contrast checks outright. A few even failed badly enough that we were surprised they'd shipped at all.
2. Alt text is easy to skip under deadline pressure
When a product shoot runs long, alt text is often the first thing left for "later." Later rarely comes without a process forcing it.
3. Forms are where most issues hide
Placeholder text looks like a label. It isn't one. This was the single most common issue across our site.
4. Automated checks aren't the whole picture
Automated tools catch a lot, but things like whether an error message actually makes sense still need a human read-through.
5. It's an ongoing habit, not a one-time fix
New pages introduce new issues. We re-check on every release now, not just once a year.