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! Read the transcript
Key Insights
-
•
Consistency across the shopping experience reduces cognitive load and builds brand loyalty among people with disabilities.
-
•
Major retailers like Amazon succeed in part due to consistent accessibility patterns despite some flaws.
-
•
Convenience features such as multiple payment options and browser autofill are critical accessibility wins that also benefit all users.
-
•
The disability time tax means interactions often take longer for disabled users, making convenience even more important.
-
•
Timed checkout sessions can harm accessibility if they don’t allow users to extend their interaction without losing progress.
-
•
Confidence in the checkout process is vital; users abandon carts if unsure about charges, product outcomes, or support accessibility.
-
•
Accessibility should include customizability—multiple ways for users to interact according to their needs and preferences.
-
•
Designing for edge cases in accessibility results in better experiences for the wider user base.
-
•
Automated accessibility testing cannot verify experiential requirements like the four Cs; human involvement is essential.
-
•
Engaging people with disabilities throughout design and development yields more meaningful and effective accessibility improvements.
Notable Quotes
"I have three or four streams all going on in my head at the same time — my voice, incoming Zoom messages, speaker notes, and slides."
"Accessibility is a journey and it’s the velocity of that journey that matters."
"If it’s not sold at Amazon or Costco, it’s probably not in my house."
"The accessibility of Amazon and Costco isn’t perfect, but their consistency lets me buy products basically in my sleep."
"The disability time tax means people with disabilities often spend more time completing tasks."
"Accepting multiple payment providers is an accessibility win that benefits every customer."
"If your checkout isn’t giving me confidence, I’ll just go to your competitor."
"Customizability is about meeting people where they are, whether that’s a new parent, a senior, or someone with a disability."
"When you design for the edges, you get the middle for free."
"Automated tools can’t tell you if you’ve achieved the four Cs – you need real people with disabilities involved."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"If design didn’t move the needle, we wouldn’t be having this conversation."
Standardizing Product Merits for Leaders, Designers, and Everyone
June 15, 2018
"Most strategy today is guesswork based on what others are doing, not based on situational awareness."
Simon WardleyMaps and Topographical Intelligence (Videoconference)
January 31, 2019
"Many smartwatch designs assume male hands as default, excluding smaller wrists and diverse body types."
Sandra CamachoCreating More Bias-Proof Designs
January 22, 2025
"It takes at least one team member to choose to set healthy standards for collaboration."
Darian DavisLessons from a Toxic Work Relationship
January 8, 2024
"After each interview, I input the transcript into ChatGPT and ask for three key takeaways that I can quickly share with stakeholders."
Fisayo Osilaja[Demo] The AI edge: From researcher to strategist
June 4, 2024
"Craft should evolve from making a beautiful final object to serving as a facilitative anchor in enterprise UX."
Uday GajendarThe Wicked Craft of Enterprise UX
May 13, 2015
"We formed a small core task force empowered to make decisions to avoid delays from formal reviews."
Davis Neable Guy SegalHow to Drive a Design Project When you Don’t Have a Design Team
June 10, 2021
"Once cash prizes were gone, people stopped feeling ownership of the design system."
Eniola OluwoleLessons From the DesignOps Journey of the World's Largest Travel Site
October 24, 2019
"Most of us in design are very process-oriented, but traditional devops tools are task and issue-centric, making collaboration hard."
Aurobinda Pradhan Shashank DeshpandeIntroduction to Collaborative DesignOps using Cubyts
September 9, 2022
