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These days it’s crucial that your business has an accessible website. You need to make sure that your customers can actually use your site in a way that’s convenient for them. Otherwise, they may log off and go to a competitor.
Failure to make your site accessible can irritate, annoy, or even anger your customers who have additional accessibility needs. In a worst-case scenario, those customers may never come back, or even worse, you could receive a lawsuit for failing to comply with legal accessibility legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
In the past making the necessary legal requirements outlined in the WCAG and ADA used to be demanding and tedious. Especially while trying to run a business at the same time. If you’re running a restaurant, you’re cashing checks, hiring new staff, ordering inventory – digital accessibility isn’t naturally going to be at the forefront of your mind. Thankfully, in recent years, technology has come to the rescue. Two digital accessibility companies, UserWay and accessiBe, have released AI-based plug-ins to help business owners get up to speed with compliance.
There are some key differences between these widgets. In our view, one widget in particular stands slightly above the other. Read on to find out which one comes out on top in our full comparison review below.
First off, both AI-powered widgets use artificial intelligence and automation. This is why the process works so seamlessly for hardworking business owners. AI reduces the effort it takes to make web accessibility possible. As well, both widgets use machine learning. This lets them capture a website’s current layout and design so that they can figure out what needs to be adjusted.
But which one’s better? Have a look below and read on until the end to see who comes out on top
To compare both widgets properly we’d like to provide an overview of which widget is the most popular. We think that this is a good way for you to get to know about each widget’s reputation, what kinds of businesses use them, and how many entities actually use them.
First off, UserWay is definitely the most well-known. It’s served over 700,000 websites, including sites for large enterprises like Coca-Cola, Duracell, FedEx, and eBay. Plus its fair share of small and medium sized businesses too.
Although in the same vein, accessiBe also has had its fair share of success. Its helped over 100,000 businesses to meet ADA compliance requirements. Like UserWay, it has helped some popular brands like Fiverr, Knoll, Energizer, and Benadryl as well.
UserWay and accessiBe are incredibly easy to integrate into your website. ADA compliance is tricky, and widgets like theirs are meant to make compliance less of a chore for people who are busy and may not be technically inclined.
Of course, we tested both and discovered that their integration processes are highly alike. Obviously, the process will vary slightly based on the content management system or website builder that you’re using; but both should look something along the lines of this:
Anyone who isn’t technologically disposed should really appreciate how easy the integration features and processes in both widgets are. For instance, adding a plug-in for one of these widgets, such as WordPress, is as simple as a few clicks and pressing a few buttons. Anyone can do it. And the reward for your effort is a fully ADA-compliant website that every one of your customers can use.
After getting to know both products well, there’s no clear winner for us. Both widgets offer a gorgeous experience that’s quick to set-up, which is exactly what you want if you’re thinking of getting one of these widgets. We also thought it was especially cool that both widgets offered customizable user interfaces. These can be added through a simple plug-in or as easy as copying and pasting a few bits of JavaScript.
accessiBe uses advanced AI to make websites more accessible, meaning that it’s fully automatic. Once you’ve installed it successfully, it will start scanning your business’s website for digital accessibility violations. Within around two days, your site will be completely certified for compliance.
It’s good to bear in mind though, that changes made to your website could cause new accessibility issues which violate the ADA. You shouldn’t let this stop you from updating your website when you need to, however, but it’s worth remembering you should check for any new violations once you have made changes.
UserWay is slightly different from accessiBe in terms of how its finds accessibility violations. Much like accessiBe, it needs two days or thereabouts to spot any compliance issues after you’ve installed it. Once it’s done it will make any updates as it sees fit. Nevertheless, UserWay differs from accessiBe in one particular way – manual detection.
Some users prefer not to use this manual option. They feel that it requires too much effort on their part and prefer to use the automatic detection options offered by both widgets. If you feel that that’s best for your business, then you can rely on its automatic detection abilities just fine.
On the other end of the spectrum, depending on the size and scale of the business they’re running, some users like to go extra deep into ADA compliance issues. UserWay allows them that option if they prefer. That’s why for these kinds of customers, UserWay’s manual accessibility solution probably works best for them. This option will not provide you with daily reports, but you are at liberty to analyze any potential ADA compliance issues at your own pace.
UserWay’s widget is near 100% accurate, but it isn’t totally infallible — some violations it detects may not be accurate. So, if that happens you can choose whether to correct them or not.
Both widgets offer the same qualities but set up their pricing systems differently. Because of this, it’s worthwhile taking some time to understand the difference.
AccessiBe: accessiBe’s pricing plan is based on how many pages their websites have. Its pricing plan is detailed below:
UserWay: Instead, UserWay bases its pricing on how many monthly page views their customers’ websites receive. Its pricing plan is detailed below:
It’s clear that UserWay is ever so slightly more affordable. It works perfectly if you’re a medium-sized business that falls into the middletier of monthly page views above.
Both companies offer you the possibility of paying for your subscription annually. What’s great is that if you pay for an annual subscription, you get a 20% discount!
If you’re a “try before you buy” kind of person, then you’re in luck. Both UserWay and accessiBe are offering free trials for their respective widgets. UserWay’s free trial period is slightly longer, standing at ten days, whereas accessible offers a seven-day free trial.
Still, a ten-day and a seven-day free trial are more than enough time to let you make up your mind.
Both tools are incredibly useful for making your website more accessible. But when it comes down to it, UserWay rises slightly above its competitor.
Our reasoning is that UserWay is more affordable and provides the added bonus of its manual detection capabilities, which is nice to know it’s there if you ever need it. Both widgets have great reputations in the industry and are easy to set up.
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