When digital design looks fine — but does not work

I recently tried to register for something online. A straightforward task. A few fields to complete, a button to confirm, and you are done.

Except I could not activate the button.

From my side, everything looked fine. The form loaded, the fields were there, and I navigated to the submit button using my keyboard. But when I pressed enter, nothing happened. I tried again. Still nothing.

What should have taken less than a minute turned into guesswork. Eventually, I had to step away.

That is what inaccessible design looks like in practice. Not dramatic. Just quietly disruptive.

The barriers most people do not see

By now, most people have heard about image descriptions. They are often the first thing that comes up in conversations about accessibility. They matter. But for someone who is totally blind, many of the real barriers sit beneath the surface.

Interactive elements are a good example. If a button or link cannot be accessed and activated using a keyboard, it effectively does not exist for me. I navigate using a screen reader, which relies on keyboard input.

When that interaction is not supported, the experience breaks. It is also worth noting this does not only affect blind users. Many sighted people rely on keyboard navigation as well, whether by necessity or preference.

Then there is what happens after you activate something.

You press a button, and visually, a dialog appears at the bottom of the page. A sighted user sees it immediately. But if the page has not been built correctly, my screen reader focus stays on the original button. There is no signal that anything has changed.

From my perspective, the action led nowhere. It creates a moment of friction where I have to decide whether to keep trying or assume the system is not working.

PDFs present another challenge. A document might look polished, but without proper structure, it can be difficult to follow. Headings are not defined, sections are out of order, and the reading sequence breaks down.

Instead of moving through a clear flow of information, I am piecing together fragments and trying to reconstruct meaning.

What good accessibility actually feels like

When these things are done well, the difference is immediate. I can move through a site quickly, complete tasks with confidence, and access information in a way that makes sense the first time.

There is no friction, no second guessing, and no need to work around the system. The experience simply works, and I can focus on the reason I came there in the first place.

In many cases, the difference comes down to small decisions in how something is built.

Clear structure, proper labelling, and thoughtful handling of interaction states are not complex, but they make a measurable difference.

Accessibility is not about adding features at the end. It is about whether the experience works in the first place.

When it is considered from the beginning, it creates something simple and powerful: the ability for people to participate fully and independently in the digital world.

Free digital accessibility workshops

Supported by InternetNZ community funding, Access Advisors are running a series of digital accessibility workshops for community and non-profit organisations, including iwi, Pasifika groups, churches, sports groups and volunteers.

In-person workshops are being held in Wellington and Auckland during May, and there is an online training in June.

For more information and to register please go to the Access Advisors website. 

To read more of Julius Charles Serrano's work go to this website, juliusserrano.com.