Captain Coder

Are you doing this one thing that's killing your reach with Gen Z?

Using PDFs for everything. Course catalogs. Viewbooks. Program guides. Event flyers. Essential information that can only be accessed through a file they download and forgot they have.

Creating a PDF seems like the right thing to do. You can email it, link to it, and people can download and keep it. Until you remember that most of your prospective students are Gen Z (and younger) who mostly use their phones for everything.

You know what doesn't work great on your phone? A PDF. You have to pinch and zoom to read anything.

Don't believe me? 51% of Gen Z use social media for their primary search engines; most social usage is done on your phone. 40% of mobile phone usage total is by Gen Z users. And 75% of Gen Z claim their phone is their primary device.

When you are marketing to people who live, research, and do most everything on their phone, you can't serve them content that is inherently not mobile-friendly.

Be honest with me - did you create a PDF resource and add it to your website within the last month?

If you are looking for the latest, greatest accessibility tool to solve all your website issues, I’ve got some bad news for you.

You can’t fully automate web accessibility.

These scanners (which are all built the same) find about 30% of the actual issues on your websites. They are great to help you catch the easy things a lot of people miss, but they simply don’t go through your website like an actual human does.

And honestly, that’s who you’re trying to help when you’re improving your site’s accessibility. This isn’t about compliance or a checklist; it’s about the real person on the other side of that process.

In this week’s article, we’re breaking down exactly what these tools do well, how you can fold them into your process, and what you need to be aware of as you move towards compliance.

Read it now at https://captcoder.com/can-web-accessibility-rely-on-tools/

Confused about WCAG and web accessibility?

Think about it this way. The ADA (and a lot of other laws) say we have to add accommodations for people with disabilities, like cuts to a curb. But those accommodations can help a lot of people. Curb cuts, for instance, make it easier for people with rolling suitcases, on bikes and scooters, with more limited mobility, and just clumsy people like me, to cross a street.

WCAG is basically just our list of accommodations we need to make with our websites. These international guidelines help us understand what kinds of things can help not only people with disabilities, but all people use your website more easily.

In this week’s blog, we are breaking down exactly what WCAG is, the principles that guide it, simple adjustments that help everyone, and even how to talk to clients about it.

Read it now at https://captcoder.com/what-is-wcag/