The reason for the lack of reviews for digital accessibility companies is obvious: purchasing accessibility services isn’t like buying an anti gravity chair on Amazon or going to a local Mexican restaurant. Whereas there’s a 2% chance you’ll leave a review on Amazon or for a local business on Google, there’s a .002% chance you’ll write a review for a digital accessibility company on Reddit, Facebook, or somewhere else.
Read screenshots from client emails we’ve received.
But as someone who needs help from a legitimate accessibility service provider, you’re still in a quandary: are any of these companies actually good?
When you look for reviews online, you’ll come across some highly questionable sites designed solely for purposes of ranking in Google and not providing authentic information. You’ll see arbitrary review scores based on nothing substantial – not reviews from actual clients who purchased and implemented accessibility services. This leaves you right where you started: uncertain about who to trust.
The Answer: Via Negativa
Have you ever heard of via negativa? It’s an approach where you remove what you know is bad rather than trying to identify the best option.
Via negativa works well here – you may not know who the best digital accessibility companies are, but you can definitely identify who the bad ones are. Or, at minimum, you can figure out which companies aren’t selling what you actually need for true accessibility.
Let’s start here: you very likely need professional services – if you’re after WCAG conformance, professional services are the only way to get there.
So what you don’t need are “solutions” (watch out whenever this word appears) based around or centered around:
- overlays
- widgets
- plugins
- tools
- scans
- checkers
What you actually need is the good ol’ fashion manual stuff – human, technical accessibility experts grading your site against WCAG criteria, identifying issues, and providing actionable remediation guidance.
Overlays
And we know, categorically, that overlays and overlay widgets do not make your website accessible, WCAG conformant, or ADA compliant – and they do not stop lawsuits whatsoever. In fact, there are plaintiffs’ law firms who specifically target websites with overlay widgets because they recognize these sites as vulnerable.
So any company connected to a widget should be eliminated from your search immediately. You can read more about overlays and vendors who sell them at overlayfactsheet.com. A great first question in your vendor conversations is simply: “Do you recommend overlays, widgets, or toolbars as part of your accessibility solution?”
If they do, or even seem open to the idea of them, then you can cross that company off your list.
Another follow up question to ask:
“Is your company associated with an overlay or an overlay widget?”
Scans
Another check point is if their “solution” is focused around or primarily based upon anything automated. Here, we’re specifically concerned with scans.
There’s nothing per se wrong with a scan. In fact, some clients need to use a scan for policy or litigation reasons. However, the scan can’t be the headline offering – and it certainly shouldn’t be cost prohibitive. After all, single-page scans are completely free.
Scans aren’t negatives like overlays are, but the benefits are commonly oversold to organizations who only realize after a significant purchase that they needed professional services all along.
Next Steps
If you can eliminate companies who sell overlay widgets and feature expensive scan software, your research will be much, much better off.
More good news: We sell neither and, if you need a quote for accessibility services, we’re happy to help. Just send us a message and we’ll be right with you.
Whether or not you go with us, when you choose from companies who operate the right way, you’ll find it’s much more likely you choose a reputable provider who provides good quality services that genuinely helps you with compliance and meeting objectives.
