Accessibility Statement
Accessibility Awareness
I had never considered the nuances of making websites accessible. It often came as an afterthought, something I would do “down the line.” However, through the Web Accessibility class I took at Rutgers, I realized how important it is to create an inclusive and equitable experience for people of all backgrounds to benefit from the projects or applications I work on. As a full-stack developer, I can create experiences that reflect my newfound knowledge of the products I work on or build. While building websites that follow WCAG standards can take extra time, it generally results in better results for the user experience.
Implementing Accessibility: Challenges and Solutions
To implement accessibility on this portfolio website, I focused on a few key aspects that my website previously lacked to some extent. These are contrast (perceivable), better feedback (understandable), and focus indicators (operable). In particular, I worked towards an “accessibility” mode to improve text contrast, reduce motion, and automatically follow device/browser preference for motion. On the contact page, I also worked on creating a better feedback experience, letting users know when usernames were copied or when messages were sent. However, while implementing these changes, I ran into some issues, primarily because of the nature of how SSR (server-side rendering) works with NextJS. I originally wanted to use CSS styles (mix-blend mode) to transition text from dark to light based on the part of the background color; however, this proved to be rather tricky. Instead, I opted for an “accessibility mode” to remove the background image and create an experience with good contrast overall. There were also minor issues with how the UI Framework I use (DaisyUI) handles drop-down menus based on screen size, but this will be fixed in a future update of the framework, and as such, I will update my website when that comes out.
Future Impact: Accessibility in Professional Practice
While this website is a strong basis for what I would do in my personal projects, it also gives me a solid foundation to take into the workplace when I begin work in mid-2025. Having the baseline knowledge of the WCAG guidelines, but more importantly, being able to consider a wide variety of users and think from a perception of equity in web content, allows me to help guide projects I work on to be more inclusive from the start. I plan to advocate for accessibility considerations in the early stages of design and development, ensuring that features are built with all users in mind. By consistently applying accessibility principles and advocating for inclusive design, I aim to make a tangible difference in creating web content that is genuinely accessible and equitable for all users, regardless of their abilities or assistive technologies.