So what’s better? Using automatic accessibility widgets on your website or manually remediating your website’s code? The answer, as always, depends on your organization’s objectives. Let’s take you through the key factors to consider.
Manual digital remediation involves implementing accessibility features directly within the website’s code base. This method of remediation requires expert knowledge, adhering to accessibility guidelines, using semantic markup, and providing alternative text for images, among many other things.
On the other hand, using automated and external remediation tools such as EqualWeb’s Auto AI Aaccessibility Widget provides a variety of accessibility features and support for varying disabilities, making the life of website owners much simpler.
The following are some differences and advantages of using automated accessibility tools versus manually remediating your website.
Time
An AI-powered widget makes the website accessible immediately upon its implementation. Manual remediation normally takes between three to 12 months, depending on the complexity of the site. An automated widget is especially useful for websites that were not originally developed with accessibility in mind.
Effort
Manual remediation requires painstaking effort by programmers. Not only can the work itself take a long time, but learning the legal requirements and WCAG 2.1 accessibility guidelines is a lot of work in itself that requires expertise.
Investment
If manual remediation comes at the expense of normal working time, then the loss of revenue is twofold. The financial expense is deducted once for the remediation work and a second time for lost output. Automated remediation saves revenue in the long run.
Comprehensive solution
A customizable AI-powered widget can offer a wider range of accessibility solutions and support for different disabilities, such as screen readers, keyboard navigation, voice commands, and more. Manual remediation provides specific solutions to specific problems and thus may miss the comprehensive array of accessibility requirements.
Ongoing support
With the EqualWeb Auto AI Accessibility Widget, you can enjoy ongoing support and automatic updates. This helps to stay up to date with new accessibility standards and ensures accessibility improvements on a regular basis on the website.
Multilingual support
The EqualWeb solution provides support for over 40 languages and appeals to a global audience. This can be especially helpful for websites that require multilingual accessibility support.
Customization
Manual remediation is of course the most customized solution possible, but this does not mean that automated remediation cannot offer a variety of customizable options, in the design and branding of the logo and interface, for example.
In the end, the choice between implementing accessibility features in the source code or using the Auto AI Accessibility Widget depends on factors such as the complexity of the website, development resources, time constraints, the desired level of customization, and the need for ongoing support.
If you are interested in an automated solution that combines manual remediation, EqualWeb can make a special offer for you. Please visit our Pricing page or Contact Us for any questions.
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