Online Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
Summary
Online shopping was first premiered in the 1980s, as a way for people who couldn’t shop in-person to easily make purchases. But how far we’ve come! In this talk, Fable’s Accessibility Evangelist Sam Proulx will walk you through some of the key factors to create an online shopping experience that is accessible to everyone. From his perspective as a full time screen reader user, and drawing on Fable’s thousands of hours working with people with disabilities, Sam will highlight how consistency, convenience, confidence, and customizability enable a smooth experience for all users, disabled or not. Let’s bring online shopping back to its accessibility roots!
Key Insights
-
•
Consistency in layout and interaction reduces cognitive load for all users, especially those with disabilities.
-
•
Convenience features like browser autofill significantly ease form completion for users with physical disabilities.
-
•
Confidence in secure, predictable checkout processes is critical to prevent users with disabilities from abandoning purchases.
-
•
Customization allows users to tailor experiences to their unique disability needs, improving accessibility.
-
•
Offering multiple payment providers increases accessibility by providing alternatives if one option is unusable.
-
•
Timed session interactions should allow extensions to avoid penalizing users who need more time, supporting accessibility and security simultaneously.
-
•
Accessible experiences designed for edge cases end up benefiting all users, enhancing overall user satisfaction.
-
•
Automated accessibility testing tools identify code issues but cannot fully capture real-world user experience problems.
-
•
Involving people with disabilities across all stages of design and development is key to building truly accessible products.
-
•
Lack of accessibility not only frustrates disabled users but can cause significant business loss through customer attrition.
Notable Quotes
"Accessible experiences are better experiences for everyone whether you are a person with a disability or not."
"If it didn’t come from Amazon or Costco, I probably don’t own it because I know the experience will be consistent."
"Consistency reduces cognitive load not just for screen reader users but for people with ADHD and other cognitive challenges."
"Browser autofill isn’t just convenience; it removes barriers to purchase for people with physical disabilities."
"Offering the ability to save your progress allows users with disabilities to complete tasks on their own time."
"Lack of confidence caused by unlabeled or difficult controls often leads assistive tech users to give up on purchases."
"The more payment providers you offer, the higher the chance everyone can pick what works best for them."
"Accessible foundations are built by involving voices of people with disabilities from ideation to prototyping to launch."
"There isn’t necessarily a conflict between security and accessibility; it’s a matter of thoughtful design."
"People with disabilities often won’t ask for help; they simply go to an accessible competitor instead."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"You have to prepare research to withstand scrutiny by anyone so your team can go forward confidently."
Anna Avrekh Dr. John Pagonis Klara Pelcl Sina SchreiberExpert Panel: Leading in and with Research
March 10, 2022
"Technology is a series of choices designers and technologists make, often small but impactful; we must demand better choices that work for all of us."
Taylor KlassmanShaping the Next Era of UX Research: Collaborative Forum
March 11, 2025
"Organizations are racialized and systematically exclude qualified researchers of color."
Dr. Jamika D. Burge Steve Portigal Alba Villamil Sam LadnerThe Future of Research: Bridging the Gaps
July 29, 2021
"Compensation is so important to thank people for their time, and you will definitely build your recruitment pool much faster if you offer it."
Marisa BernsteinIt Takes GRIT: Lessons from the Small, but Mighty World of Civic Usability Testing
December 9, 2021
"You have to know what the development roadmap is to ensure design system changes are properly integrated and prioritized."
Dan Mall“Ask Me Anything” with Dan Mall, Author of Upcoming Rosenfeld Title, Design that Scales
October 2, 2023
"The researchers I know aspire to do lofty work, but we have a long way to go to get there."
Chris GeisonTheme 1 Intro
March 9, 2022
"If someone only reads the first few paragraphs or attends the first 10 minutes, they should still get the key takeaways."
Bruce GillespieLearning from journalism: Balancing impactful communication with compassionate storytelling
March 13, 2025
"The nobility complex is when we in the West unintentionally create solutions without accounting for our own biases."
Nancy DouyonWe'll Figure That Out in the Next Launch: Enterprise Tech's Nobility Complex
June 15, 2018
"We had conversations with donors over dinners and asked about their vision for innovation and future impact—it’s about asking the right questions."
Liz EbengoThe Burden on Children: The Cost of Insufficient Post-Conflict Services and Pathways Forward
December 4, 2024
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
What role do small wins play in building credibility and trust for UX in healthcare environments?
What strategies help UX researchers gain access to healthcare workflows in overwhelmed systems?
What does a successful healthcare UX career look like in terms of accumulating influence and aligning with clinical/business goals?