Marking Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Zmags Announces Accessibility Panel for its Flagship Product, Fastr Frontend
New Feature Helps Users Broaden Their Reach and Avoid Costly Accessibility Violations
BOSTON, Mass., May 18, 2023 - In spite of all the attention and awareness digital accessibility has received in recent years, significant infractions remain widespread. Research shows that 98.1 percent of home pages have at least one WCAG 2.0 error, with an average of 61 errors per page. Not surprisingly, lawsuits have continued to escalate, reaching a new record in 2022.
Today’s unprecedented pace and rate of e-commerce site changes make it very difficult to continually adhere to digital accessibility standards. To address this problem, Zmags, the industry leader in driving digital experience transformation, has announced the Accessibility Panel, a new, free feature within FastrTM Frontend that automatically checks for digital accessibility issues as part of a workflow.
“With website content changes being made around the clock, there is a real possibility for digital accessibility regression,” says Allison Vernerey, VP of Product, Zmags. “Digital accessibility violations are slowly and surely creeping in, even on sites that may have once featured impeccable design. Our new Accessibility Panel will allow Fastr Frontend users to maintain their speed while automatically flagging breaches, helping them ensure that their websites stay accessible while also promoting and protecting their SEO investments.”
Today’s highly competitive, dynamic market is requiring e-commerce marketers, website designers and content creators to constantly be updating and revising their website content, in order to capitalize on new and often fleeting opportunities. In this context, it becomes far too easy for even the most expertly designed websites to gradually dip.
Zmags’ Accessibility Panel works by scanning to ensure that digital accessibility best practices are met every time a website is updated, even before any updates go live. For example, the tool double checks that all page elements and images are accompanied by alt text, so users can understand the meaning an image conveys, even if they can’t see the image. It also flags duplicate or default alt text that may not be useful to people with vision impairments. Additionally, the tool checks for the application of heading tags (enabling the visually impaired to skim a webpage and also helping SEO by making pages more crawlable); and proper tab order (ensuring interactive items flow in the correct sequence).
“As an e-commerce leader, if you’re not paying close enough attention to accessibility, not only are you excluding a huge potential customer base and exposing your company to lawsuits, but you’re also failing to address digital access and inclusion,” continues Vernerey. “Features like the Accessibility Panel will enable our Fastr Frontend users to not just continually ensure ADA compliance, but also reach their maximum target audience, especially as up to one in four U.S. adults are currently living with a disability,” continues Vernerey.
In acknowledgement of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) and to help companies deliver accessible e-commerce experiences for all, Zmags is happy to provide an Accessibility Review to brands looking to improve in this area - request yours before May 31st at www.zmags.com/gaad.
About Zmags:
Fastr Frontend from Zmags is the first Frontend-as-a-Service platform built for e-commerce leaders, empowering them to compose digital commerce experiences that engage customers and capture revenue. Combining best-in-class design tools with powerful integration and orchestration capabilities, Fastr Frontend allows business leaders to break free from templates, eliminate development dependencies, and get conversion-driving storefronts to market faster.
Fastr Frontend includes Creator Studio, Zmags' SaaS solution for bringing static digital content to life through limitless interactive possibilities. And, with robust Professional Services packages from Zmags, businesses can expand their design, development, and integration productivity overnight.
Headquartered in Boston with a distributed worldwide team, Zmags powers innovative customer journeys for e-commerce companies of all sizes. Zmags is backed by Akmazo Capital and acquired Be A Part Of in 2022 to support its mission of delivering growth for e-commerce brands.