Catalyzing Inclusivity: Equally.AI Web Accessibility Solution Review

Last Updated on October 23, 2023

In an era dominated by digital innovation, the web has become an integral part of our daily lives, the place we consume most of the information and services. However, amidst this digital evolution, ensuring equal access for all individuals, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, has become an imperative. The web accessibility landscape strives to bridge the gap between technology and inclusivity, seeking to make online content and services accessible to everyone, regardless of their physical or cognitive limitations.

As businesses and organizations increasingly recognize the importance of creating an inclusive online environment, solutions like equally.ai’s emerge as crucial tools in navigating the complex terrain of web accessibility, promising not just compliance with legal standards but a genuine commitment to making the digital world a space that truly accommodates the diverse needs of its users. In this review, we go over the features and effectiveness of equally.ai’s accessibility solutions, examining how it contributes to shaping a more accessible digital landscape as well as making sure you’re business is compliant with legal standards like the ADA accessible website guidelines and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Equally AI Background

Founded in 2020 by Omer Shamay and Ran Ronen and based in Herzelia, Israel. Equally ai offical mission statement is to bridge the gap between technology and accessibility with the needs of our users at its very core. They are still a young startup but are already one of the most known accessibility solutions with thousands of customers. (some customers manage dozens of websites). Their

Equally AI Features and Products

Equally ai accessibility solutions provides support for people with vision impairments such as complete blindness, blurred vision, color vision impairments, glaucoma, or age-related vision impairment. The platform also helps Individuals with accessibility profiles like ADHD, Dyslexia, Epilepsia and Cognitive challenges with specialized accessible interfaces and functionality. And of course helping website owners stay compliant with ADA and WCAG laws and standards. The main product is the accessibility widget websmaters install on their website with one line of code.

Once the widget is installed on a website it starts detecting accessibility issues and of course gives the user the options to manually adjusts the website elements according to the user’s profile. So the adjustments are both automated and manual. The solution’s AI technology is constantly scanning the website and applying accessibility fixes to newly added components.

Let’s go over the widget’s top features.

Visual Impairments Tools

1. Alt Text Optimization: The solution focuses on optimizing alternative text (alt text) for images. Equally.ai assists in creating descriptive and meaningful alt text, enabling users with visual impairments to comprehend the content of images, charts, and other visual elements.
2. High Contrast and Readable Fonts: Equally.ai facilitates the implementation of high-contrast color schemes and readable fonts, enhancing visibility for users with low vision. This feature contributes to a more user-friendly interface that accommodates various visual abilities.
3. Keyboard Navigation: Equally.ai emphasizes keyboard navigation, ensuring that users with visual impairments who rely on keyboard commands can easily navigate through website elements without the need for a mouse. This improves accessibility for those with mobility challenges as well.
4. Text-to-Speech Capabilities: Equally.ai integrates text-to-speech functionalities, allowing users with visual impairments to listen to the content on a webpage. This feature promotes a multi-modal approach to information consumption, catering to diverse user preferences and needs.
5. Adjustable Text Size and Zoom: Equally.ai provides options for users to customize text size and page zoom, empowering individuals with visual impairments to personalize their viewing experience according to their preferences and needs.

Cognitive Impairments Tools

Tools for cognitive impairments focus on simplifying the user interface by minimizing complex design elements, reducing clutter, and providing a clean and straightforward layout. These tools might offer options to adjust text size, font styles, and background colors to enhance readability for individuals with cognitive challenges (ADHD or Dyslexia for example). Also when it comes to website navigation equally ai accessibility widget ensures a consistent and predictable navigation structure to help individuals with cognitive impairments understand and move through the content more easily.

Seizure Safe Tool

Website animations and flashing content can trigger epileptic seizures. Equally ai Seizure Safe stops that kind of content from showing users who suffer from such a condition.

Screen Reader

A screen reader is assistive technology designed to provide audible output for individuals with visual impairments or blindness. It is a software application that interprets and translates digital text into synthesized speech. By doing so, it allows users to “read” the content displayed on a computer screen through auditory means. Equally AI technology can test how to content of your website translates into popular screen readers and provides actionable insights to help you create more accessible content through audio.

ARIA- Accessibility Audits

ARIA is an automated web accessibility audit tool that provides a clear breakdown of your website’s accessibility status. It is based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, which are the international standards for web accessibility.

To use ARIA, you simply enter your website’s domain name into the search field and click on “test”. ARIA will then scan your website for accessibility issues and generate a detailed report. The report will break down all WCAG requirements and provide you with a thorough analysis of your site’s compliance. For each issue, the report will also provide you with a helpful description and insights to help you understand the issue and how to fix it.

ARIA is a valuable tool for any organization that wants to make its website more accessible to people with disabilities. It is also a good way to ensure that your website is compliant with applicable laws and regulations, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Here are some of the benefits of using ARIA:

• It is easy to use and provides a clear and concise report of your website’s accessibility status.
• It is based on the WCAG 2.1 standards, which are the international standards for web accessibility.
• It can scan your website for a wide range of accessibility issues, including
  • Color contrast
  • Alternative text
  • Keyboard accessibility
  • Headings and structure
  • Language tags
  • Form labels
• It provides helpful descriptions and insights for each issue, so you can understand the problem and how to fix it.

ARIA is a free tool that can be used by anyone to audit their website for accessibility issues. It is a valuable tool for any organization that wants to make its website more accessible to people with disabilities.

Flowy- For Developers

Flowy is a relatively new tool powered by Chat Gpt. It is designed to help developers make websites and web applications more accessible to people with disabilities, without having to be experts in accessibility.

Flowy works by scanning your website’s source code for accessibility issues. It then provides you with a detailed report of the issues found, along with recommendations on how to fix them. Flowy also provides a step-by-step guide on how to resolve each issue, based on your website’s framework.

Equally AI’s Pricing

Equally.AI offers a 14 days free trial where you can test the product and enjoy paid features. Customers on all plans get:

• WCAG, ADA, Section 508, EN 301 549 Compliance.
• Accessibility statement and certification of performance.
• Routine Compliance Checks, Powered by AI.
• Easy safe mode testing.
• Accessibility widget and profiles exceeding industry standards
• Fully customized: positions, colors, icons, shapes, sizes, and more.
• 24/7 Help Desk.

The main difference between the plan is the number of pages you can display the widget per domain. For most business the small plan is more than enough and is only $23.25/month on annual billing or $27/month on a month to month basis.

Worldwide Legal Standards and Compliance

Equally AI complies with a variety of legal standards, including:

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all areas of public life, including employment, education, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications. Equally AI helps organizations to comply with the ADA by making their websites and web applications more accessible to people with disabilities.
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): WCAG is a set of international standards for web accessibility. Equally AI helps organizations to comply with WCAG by identifying and fixing accessibility issues on their websites and web applications.
• Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Section 508 requires federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Equally AI helps federal agencies to comply with Section 508 by making their websites and web applications more accessible.
• EN 301 549: EN 301 549 is a European standard for digital accessibility. Equally AI helps organizations to comply with EN 301 549 by making their websites and web applications more accessible to people with disabilities.
• AODA: The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is a law in Ontario, Canada that requires all organizations to make their websites and web applications accessible to people with disabilities. Equally AI helps organizations to comply with the AODA by making their websites and web applications more accessible.
• IS 5568– The Israel standard for web accessibility. It references the WCAG 2.0 level AA.
• UK Accessibility Regulations -The UK Accessibility Regulations apply to all public sector websites and mobile applications, and to private sector websites and mobile applications that are used by people with disabilities.

Platforms and integrations

Equally ai works on all major website platofrms and CMS: WordPress, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, Squarespace and many others. You can easily install the widget by placing a line of code on before the end of the body tag.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Comprehensive accessibility solutions: Equally AI offers a wide range of accessibility solutions, including automated testing tools, manual testing services, and accessibility training and consulting. This makes it a one-stop shop for organizations that are looking to improve the accessibility of their websites and web applications.
• Easy to use: Equally AI’s automated testing tools are easy to use, even for users who are not experts in accessibility. The company also provides clear and concise reports of accessibility issues, along with recommendations on how to fix them.
• Affordable: Equally AI’s pricing is competitive, and the company offers a variety of plans to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.
• 24/7 customer support: Equally AI’s customer support team is responsive and helpful and operates 24/7.

Cons:

• Still a young startup in a growing and competitive market: This can be an advantage but , young startups often struggle with cash flow and funding. If they continue to grow however they can go public and raise more capital.
• Limited support for some languages: Equally AI currently only supports a limited number of languages. This may be a limitation for organizations that operate in multiple countries or regions.

Equally AI Alternatives

Userway

Feature	UserWay	Equally AI
Accessibility features	AI-powered accessibility widget, manual and automated accessibility audits, accessibility training, AI code fixer. Unlimited website pages on all plans.	AI-powered accessibility widget, Intelligence Augmentation (human experts to help achieve 100% compliance). Up to 1000 pages (basic plan).
Accessibility Audit	Yes, Free (Manual Paid)	Yes, Free (Expert Audit Report option)
Accessibility consulting	Paid	Yes
Customer support	24/7 customer support	24/7 customer support
Pricing	Monthly plans start at $40 (Annual Billing)	Monthly plans start at $23 (Annual Billing)
Free Trial	Yes, 7 days	Yes, 14 days

Equalweb

Feature	EqualWeb	Equally AI
Accessibility features	AI-powered accessibility widget, manual and automated accessibility audits, accessibility training, AI code fixer. Unlimited website pages on all plans.	AI-powered accessibility widget, Intelligence Augmentation (human experts to help achieve 100% compliance). Up to 1000 pages (basic plan).
Accessibility Audit	Yes, Free	Yes, Free (Expert Audit Report option)
Accessibility consulting	15 minutes free	Yes
Customer support	24/7 customer support	24/7 customer support
Pricing	Monthly plans start at $32 (Annual Billing)	Monthly plans start at $23 (Annual Billing)
Free Trial	Yes, 7 days	Yes, 14 days

Accessibe

Feature	Accessibe	Equally AI
Accessibility features	AI-powered accessibility widget, continuous compliance monitoring. Up to 1000 pages (basic plan)	AI-powered accessibility widget, Intelligence Augmentation (human experts to help achieve 100% compliance). Up to 1000 pages (basic plan).
Accessibility Audit	Yes, Free	Yes, Free (Expert Audit Report option)
Accessibility consulting	Yes	Yes
Customer support	24/7 customer support	24/7 customer support
Pricing	Monthly plans start at $40 (Annual Billing)	Monthly plans start at $23 (Annual Billing)
Free Trial	Yes, 7 days	Yes, 14 days

Conclusion From Our Equally AI Review

Through its advanced Web Accessibility Solution, Equally.ai offering a comprehensive toolkit for creating a digital space that accommodates users of all abilities. Whether it’s enhancing navigation for those with visual impairments, simplifying interfaces for cognitive challenges, or ensuring compliance with accessibility standards, Equally.ai demonstrates a commitment to fostering a more inclusive online environment. It’s pricing is also very competitive compared to the alternatives in the market. They still need to improve some of their products and features like adding more languages and making the onboarding more user friendly for beginners. But overall they offer a great product and value for your buck.

So if you’re looking to make your website more inclusive and stay compliant with local and international accessibility laws, add Equally AI widget to your website.

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