For about ten years, there has been an increase in web sites using accessibility overlays. These tools are never as good as their marketing implies. In fact, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has fined the largest overlay company $1,000,000 for false advertising and deceptive practices. Many times, the overlay will even make the website harder to use for some disabled users.
These overlays have never really done what they claim. They advertise “make sure you don’t get sued for an inaccessible web site,” and some even claim they can make your site 100% compliant. These claims are overstated and tend to lead to website owners finding themselves in trouble, as they are not prepared when someone does complain. Overlays can cause a company that does care about accessibility to miss an opportunity to do the right thing. Let’s examine why they are so common and why I think nobody should use them.
So, what are overlays anyway?
An accessibility overlay is a software add-on that modifies a website’s interface to provide surface-level changes for users with disabilities. These overlays are often called “one line of code toolbars.” Rather than addressing accessibility at the core design level, overlays apply automated adjustments—like changing contrast, enlarging text, or enabling basic keyboard navigation—without altering the site’s underlying code. While they may offer quick fixes, these tools often fail to resolve deeper accessibility barriers and can create new usability issues of their own. This leads to a poor experience for many users who rely on more traditional forms of access technology. For more information see the accessibility overlay FAQ sheet signed by many accessibility professionals.
How do you recognize overlays?
Overlays seem to be everywhere nowadays, mostly on web sites for small businesses. These toolbars often have a circle with a little figure of a person holding out their arms. They offer users a range of accessibility options to help make the site a more accessible experience. Some of these tools will offer better keyboard experience and/or label graphics for the end user. These tools can change the size and color of the font. Some of these toolbars even try to replace a traditional screen reader.
How is the advertising for these tools deceptive?
If you visit an overlay company’s site you will be told, “Just add this one line of code to your web site and we will make sure your site is 100 percent accessible.” First of all, achieving 100 percent accessibility is not something that can be done automatically . Most people who work on accessibility know that accessibility depends on more than just one tool. We know that we have to consider who will be using the web site and what they might be using to access it. We know that people with disabilities can have differing needs and that sometimes the needs of one group can conflict with the needs of others if not implemented with care.
The overlays offer to help change the font size of the web site and may even be effective, but much of the time a user needing what the toolbar offers, like larger fonts, will have a system already set up to meet their needs. Ask yourself: if someone needs this toolbar or overlay to help them, how do they get to the web site to begin with, and then how do they deal with other web pages? Maia Scott, a low vision artist and advocate, says that having these widgets feels a little like the helpful passerby that grabs her arm and drags her across the street when she was just waiting for a friend.
Making disabled people out to be the bad guys
One of the most problematic things I have seen come out of the arguments made by the companies that sell these tools is that if you don’t use an overlay on your web site, disabled people will be suing you. The overlay companies make people with disabilities out to be money-hungry ambulance chasers. Well, this is truly a problem. Yes, as with every other group of people there are some people with disabilities that sue at the drop of a hat. But there are so many more that just want to be able to spend their money like everyone else. Nobody turns on their computer every day thinking, I need to find a website to take to court. Instead, they turn to the computer to find a new wardrobe or the best price on groceries or a place to go on a date. Most of the people suing companies have had real problems trying to get basic services and/or information. Many have tried hard to use websites and maybe the site they are filing a lawsuit against is the last straw.
Who benefits from these lawsuits
There are a small group of lawyers that tend to be behind serial accessibility lawsuits. Sadly, this kind of legal attention can do a lot of damage to the cause of accessibility. Use of overlays can send the message that a company may have not done any accessibility work at all. . Most of the time, companies’ that are using an overlay on websites have genuine accessibility problems. Bad players now have an easy target to sue and get a settlement. Most of the lawsuits tend to happen quietly and settle out of court with the terms of the settlements hidden behind a wall of silence. These so-called serial lawsuit filers never ask for fixes as much as they ask for monetary damages.
So companies that were hoping to help people with disabilities by using the overlays have to pay out even more and still do not have an accessible web site. I think overlays just send the message that “we did not take care of the accessibility of our web site, we just used this quick fix.” Well, the easy fix is never as good as it seems. An overlay is like using thumbtacks and bubblegum instead of creating a well built structure. If these websites were buildings, they couldn’t keep out the rain and wolves. In fact, too many of the overlays cannot even fulfill the basic promises they make. A large number of sites with these overlays have been named in lawsuits. And most of the time the company that used the overlay ends up having to pay to fix the problems with no consequences to the overlay company.
However, recent lawsuits are being decided against overlay makers. In late 2024, the U.S Federal Trade Commission fined AccessiBe, the largest overlay company, $1,000,00 for violations including deceptive sales practices and failing to disclose relationships of people making claims about their service. The FTC found that many of the statements on the AccessiBe website were made by people connected to the company financially and therefore were deceptive. The FTC also said that the claims made by AccessiBe that they made a website compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act were not true. A class action suit against AccessiBe was filed in July 2024 because a company using it for over a year was sued in January 2024. In this suit, the plaintiff said that the AccessiBe contract promised help if they were sued but this did not happen. You can read more about this case on Lainey Feingold’s website. A second case was filed in July 2024 against another overlay tool, UserWay. This case said that the UserWay tool did not make their site accessible. According to Lainey, both suits could really change what happens to overlay vendors once they go to court. She says that the AccessiBe case was particularly well written with many good points of law against the vendor. It does seem that they were charging for a form of insurance that they did not pay out on.
Genuine accessibility is cheaper than quick fixes
Overlay companies charge a monthly fee, but what happens when a company can’t pay any more? Remember I said most of the time these overlays are sold to small businesses that might not have the $500 each month to keep the overlay working. Having an accessible web site might cost something up front, but I have never heard of ongoing costs to just keep a site accessible. There are costs when updating a site, but accessibility should just be part of that update, not the only cost..
Investing a little on accessibility at every phase often pays off in more people with and without disabilities using your website and more customers buying your goods and services. A good example would be that many restaurant websites use overlays, They turn out to not be at all accessible. and these restaurants often are on the edge of going under. But if the website for a restaurant is accessible it’s likely to have more people visit and buy their food. Staff may not have to spend as much time helping people with disabilities read and understand the menu because people with disabilities can read the web site and the menu for themselves. Everyone can read the menu ahead of their visit and not spend as much time deciding what to order. Therefore the restaurant can serve more people faster.
In summary
Overlays really don’t work and have ongoing costs. If you have a good web designer to help build your site to begin with, you will make more money than if you have to pay for the overlay. Most of the time when I see overlays, my reaction is, “oh no.” If I stay on the web site, I never do find that the site works any better and most times it does not work at all. Take a little care and time building your web site. When it’s accessible you will find it pays off. Using a quick fix like an overlay, on the other hand, will only keep costing you, in fees to the overlay company and potentially the loss of business from more than people with disabilities. Statistics have shown that companies with overlays do get sued and these overlays can’t protect you. They are only a sign that shows you found a quick fix and do not really know what true inclusion and accessibility is.