Halloween Accessibility Nightmares: 3 Real Barriers a Blind Shopper Faced in October

With Halloween tomorrow, it felt like the right time to share a few accessibility horror stories from real tasks I tried to complete this month. In this blog, I will describe three horrifying accessibility issues I encountered in October and how each problem hindered my attempt to complete a given task. These were glaring, frightening accessibility defects that completely broke the experience.

This post describes three real accessibility barriers I encountered in October as a blind screen reader user.

Haunted Banking: Three "Submit" Buttons and No Escape

One of my credit cards recently expired, and I received a replacement card in the mail. The new card needed to be activated by visiting the URL included inside the card's mailing envelope. Upon launching the website in question, I was asked to enter the last four digits of the card number, the new expiration date, and the three-digit security code. I entered the requested data, then navigated past the text fields to find the button or link to complete my activation request. However, my screen reader encountered three consecutive web elements announced as "Submit, Button." There were clearly three buttons at the bottom of the form, but they all had the same nondescript, useless label: "Submit."

I had no idea which button would take me to the next step. I was inclined to assume that the first button was the correct one, but since I was dealing with something as crucial as online banking, I did not want to take a chance. At this point, I had to ask a sighted person for assistance. I was glad I did not select the first button because this option reported the card as lost or stolen, which would have initiated a new card being sent in the mail and begun the process all over again, rendering the card I was trying to activate utterly useless. The second button was the one labeled "Activate Card." I was unable to complete this task independently due to a serious accessibility barrier.

Ghosted Delivery Suggestions for Screen Readers

I recently tried ordering from a national fast-food chain for delivery via the restaurant's mobile website. Everything was working well until I had to enter my delivery address during checkout. The system was designed so that address suggestions appeared below the text field as the user typed their address details using the virtual keyboard. The screen reader would speak the first address suggestion every time I entered a character in the field.

However, when I tried to move screen reader focus to the suggestions list to find and select my address entry, the suggestions would disappear, and the contents of the text field would automatically clear. I was unable to navigate through the address suggestions with my screen reader. The results were the same whether I was using manual swipe navigation or direct touch. I tried typing in my address in its entirety, but there was no way to lock in my entry or proceed to the next step. The only way for a user to choose an address was from the interactive suggestions list. Since this list was not accessible, I was unable to place a delivery order with this restaurant.

Cursed Variant Picker: Stuck on the Wrong Size

 Last week, I attempted to purchase some air conditioner covers from a major online retailer. The particular cover I was shopping for came in several sizes and colors. Needing a specific size configuration to fit my units, I navigated past the product images to the section of the page that let users choose their variant. I moved through the horizontally arranged set of size options. I easily found the one I needed thanks to the correct labeling. I performed the screen reader activation gesture to select the option.

I returned to the top of the page to review my selection and confirm that my variant choice had been recorded. To my dismay, the product title and description still reflected the smallest cover size, which was the default. My change wasn't recorded for some reason. I returned to the product variant selector list and tried again, but had the same negative results. The product variant selector wasn't responding to screen reader interaction or manipulation. Because I couldn't choose the correct size, I couldn't complete my shopping mission and had to abandon the task. This flaw was a primary blocker, preventing me from using the site as intended.

Fix the Haunted Patterns Before Customers Find Them

Major accessibility blockers shut out screen reader users and prevent us from enjoying the functionality and benefits of a given digital experience.

If your team is seeing issues like these in banking, ordering, or ecommerce, the experience needs to be tested with real assistive technology users, not just automated testing.

Accessibility should never be seasonal. Fix the haunted patterns before your customers find them.