Nicolas Steenhout - Keynote speaker and trainer.

本頁 20 篇

• AI can operate a screen reader. What does that actually test?

  Summary AI cannot replace expert human testing. An AI agent may complete a task using screen reader output. That result only tells us what the agent did. It does not tell us how much mental effort a person would need to complete the same task. An accessibility expert must test and interpret the result. Teams also need usability testing with disabled users to understand real experiences. AI results alone cannot show that a product is accessible or conforms to WCAG. In the space of a couple of wee

  2026/10/15 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/ai-screen-reader-testing/

• AI can operate a screen reader. What does that actually test?

  AI agents can operate screen readers and complete tasks. That does not mean a feature passed screen reader testing. This article looks at what AI testing can show, what it misses, and why expert human testing is still required.

  2026/10/15 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/https://nicolas-steenhout.com/ai-screen-reader-testing/

• It's time to retire the concept of decorative images.

  Summary WCAG says some images can be hidden from screen readers because they are decorative. We use that label too often. An image may not give us important information, but it can still affect how we understand or feel about a page. We should consider what an image adds before deciding that a screen reader should ignore it. I don’t mean getting rid of alt=””. We still need a way to tell screen readers to ignore images when there’s nothing to convey. I’m talking about the category label itself a

  2026/9/28 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/retire-decorative-images/

• It’s time to retire the concept of decorative images.

  Very few images are truly decorative. An image can add meaning, mood, or context without providing information. It may be time for WCAG to use a better category.

  2026/9/28 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/https://nicolas-steenhout.com/retire-decorative-images/

• Healthcare happens when we aren't at our best

  Summary Virtual healthcare can make healthcare easier to reach for disabled people. We may not need to arrange accessible transportation or travel to a clinic. But virtual healthcare can have accessibility barriers too. Disabled people often use healthcare when we're sick, tired, in pain, or worried. Barriers can be harder to deal with at those times. Healthcare organizations need to make the whole virtual healthcare process accessible. This includes technology from other companies. In 2020, I w

  2026/9/24 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/healthcare-digital-accessibility/

• Healthcare happens when we aren’t at our best

  Virtual healthcare can make it easier for disabled people to get healthcare without travelling to a clinic. Inaccessible pages and systems can get in the way. More than 6 years after COVID changed how healthcare is delivered, it's time to look at accessibility across the whole process.

  2026/9/24 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/https://nicolas-steenhout.com/healthcare-digital-accessibility/

• WCAG 3.0 Will Create a Governance Problem Most Organizations Aren't Ready For

  Summary WCAG 3.0 is a new accessibility standard that is still being developed. Even after it becomes official, most laws and contracts will continue to require WCAG 2.x for many years. This means organizations will need to understand two standards at the same time. The one they must legally follow and the one that shows where accessibility is heading. If they confuse the two, they could make poor decisions about products, budgets, or accessibility work. The article explains why this will happen

  2026/6/25 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/wcag-3-transition-phase/

• WCAG 3.0 Will Create a Governance Problem Most Organizations Aren’t Ready For

  WCAG 3.0 will not replace WCAG 2.x overnight. Learn why organizations will need to manage both standards for years and how to prepare for the transition.

  2026/6/25 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/https://nicolas-steenhout.com/wcag-3-transition-phase/

• Announcing my new newsletter

  Summary This post announces my new newsletter and lists the topics in the newsletter. I also speak about illustrations for the newsletter and give a subscription method. I’ve never had a newsletter. And I’ve been writing and blogging for a long time! It was high time to fix that. It is fixed! I now have a newsletter. And I hope you’ll subscribe! Illustrations I’m hoping to have one illustration per newsletter. Not always an editorial image about a specific topic. Might be a bird sketch, or an ur

  2026/2/3 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/announcing-newsletter/

• Announcing my new newsletter

  I have a newsletter now. Talking about a variety of topics. And adding illustrations. Please do subscribe.

  2026/2/3 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/https://nicolas-steenhout.com/announcing-newsletter/

• HelloFresh? No. ByebyeFresh

  Summary I'm canceling my HelloFresh subscription because they moved to using AI for everything, and it's causing problems. I had a trial of HelloFresh. I was hopeful it was going to work for me. But they’ve switched to AI for everything. And that’s not for me, so bye bye. What is HelloFresh? HelloFresh is a service where you can select meals and you receive a delivery with the exact amount of ingredients you need for that recipe, along with instructions. HelloFresh advantages This is a great ser

  2026/1/6 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/byebyefresh/

• HelloFresh? No. ByebyeFresh

  HelloFresh, a meal service, has switched to relying on AI for creating recipes, generating images of dishes, and preparing packing lists. There's no way to signal food allergies. We're cancelling our subscription.

  2026/1/6 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/https://nicolas-steenhout.com/byebyefresh/

• Accessibility Part Of The Tripod

  Summary Accessibility, performance, and security are three critical part of a good, quality site I’ve often mentioned that accessibility is as important as security and performance. But I realized I never blogged about it! So, here it is. It is as important, but is rarely perceived that way. You don’t make clients pay extra for security - why would you make them pay extra for accessibility? Security, or performance, are critical features of a website or application. When you build what you build

  2025/8/6 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/accessibility-part-of-the-tripod/

• Accessibility Part Of The Tripod

  You don't get a good website or app when you deprioritize accessibility while paying attention to security and performance.

  2025/8/6 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/https://nicolas-steenhout.com/accessibility-part-of-the-tripod/

• Usability testing with disabled users is a good investment

  Summary Usability testing with disabled users will highlight accessibility barriers missed in typical accessibility audits. I was speaking about “alt text” all the way back in the early 90’s. I’m still raising awareness about that. Like many other accessibility professionals, I love to get beyond the basics. I’m regularly asked by designers to review a design or a concept. They ask me “can we make this WCAG conformant?”. That is the wrong question to ask. This blind woman could be doing usabilit

  2025/3/7 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/usability-testing-is-critical/

• Usability testing with disabled users is a good investment

  Relying on WCAG isn't enough to ensure accessibility. Conducting usability testing with disabled users is the only way. And is required by regulations such as the European Accessibility Act.

  2025/3/7 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/https://nicolas-steenhout.com/usability-testing-is-critical/

• How to do alt text on social media for artists and photographers

  Summary Adding alt text on images you post on social media is important for blind people to access your content. We often post images on social media. But not many of us think of adding alt text to describe these images for blind people who rely on screen reading application. This means they can’t access your content. Here’s a short guide to help you get started with alt text. Intended audience for this post This article is written primarily for artists and photographers sharing their work on Bl

  2024/12/30 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/alt-text-social-media-for-artists-and-photographers/

• How to do alt text on social media for artists and photographers

  Adding alt text on images you post on social media is important for blind people to access your content. Here's a short guide to help you get started.

  2024/12/30 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/https://nicolas-steenhout.com/alt-text-social-media-for-artists-and-photographers/

• Alt text for avatars or user photos

  Summary User photos and avatars are informational images. Do use clear and concise alternate text to describe them. Otherwise blind screen reader users won't have access to the same information as sighted people. People relying on screen readers should have access to the same kind of information sighted folks have when looking at an image. This is not a new concept. alt text for images was introduced in HTML back in 1993. It’s not new. And yet we’re still talking about it. Having to teach about

  2024/10/3 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/alt-text-for-avatars/

• Alt text for avatars or user photos

  User photos and avatars are informational images. Do use clear and concise alternate text to describe them. Otherwise blind screen reader users won't have access to the same information as sighted people.

  2024/10/3 08:00Nicolas Steenhouthttps://nicolas-steenhout.com/https://nicolas-steenhout.com/alt-text-for-avatars/