TinyLetter and a Big Win
Yesteday, I asked TinyLetter to improve the accessibility of its standard newsletter subscription sign-up forms.
@tinyletter I’d love to signup, but your subscribe forms don’t have labels, making them inaccessible – http://t.co/hjyJyZKbkp Fix, please?
The email newsletter service’s standard subscription sign-up form lacked a form label, having just a placeholder element. Labels are critical for form accessibility. I’m toying with starting a newsletter and liked their service, but hesitated to sign up since I’m always concerned about accessibility.
They listened, acted quickly and should be applauded. If you look at one of their standard form pages, like this one, you’ll find a label hidden off screen. It plays nicely with the placeholder and works perfectly with screen readers.
More companies and organizations should take note. It’s easy to miss the simplest of accessibility requirements in the rush to release something or when balancing other priorities. I’ve done it too! But when you find straightforward issues, knock them out. You make improvements in accessibility by starting, and making one fix at a time.