What is an accessibility statement and do I need one?

A published page stating which standard you target, how far the site currently conforms, what is known not to conform, and how to report a barrier. It is mandatory for UK and EU public sector bodies and good practice for everyone else.

Do accessibility overlay widgets actually work?

No. Overlays cannot fix semantic problems because they cannot know what your images depict or whether your headings are meaningful. Hundreds of US lawsuits have been filed against sites that had one installed, and many disabled users report they interfere with the assistive technology already configured.

Are placeholders the same as form labels?

No. A placeholder disappears the moment someone types, removing the label exactly when it is needed to check the answer. It usually fails contrast requirements too, and some assistive technology ignores it entirely. It is a hint, never a label.

Accessibility

How do I test my website with a screen reader?

Install NVDA on Windows or turn on VoiceOver on a Mac — both are free — then navigate your site by headings and by links rather than reading it top to bottom. Ten minutes of that changes how you write markup permanently.

Answered by Anas Bin Masud 215 words 3 sections

A first session, step by step

Turn the screen reader on and close your eyes, or turn the monitor off.
Navigate by heading. The heading list alone should tell you what the page is about.
Navigate by link. Every link should make sense out of context — "read more" does not.
Fill in the contact form. Confirm every field is announced with its label.
Submit it with a deliberate error and check the error is announced, not only shown.

What you will find first

Links that announce as "read more" repeatedly, images announced by filename, form fields announced as "edit blank", and a modal you cannot escape. All four are common, all four are invisible in a visual review, and none are reported by an automated scan.

You do not need to become expert

You are not simulating the experience of a daily screen reader user, who is far faster and more skilled than you will be. You are finding the places where the page conveys nothing, and those are obvious within minutes.

The longer version

This answer is deliberately short. If you want the full treatment, Website accessibility, without the compliance theatre covers it in about 5 minutes — free, ungated, written from client work.

Who answered this

Anas Bin Masud builds e-commerce sites and does technical SEO for businesses in the UK, Canada and Pakistan — fifteen live client sites, six of them stores taking real payments. These answers come from those projects rather than from a content brief. More about how I work, or ask me something directly.