Expedia adds blind-friendly upgrades

Code structured to make site easier to navigate for assistive technology users

Expedia has unveiled enhancements to make its site more accessible to users with visual disabilities as part of an ongoing relationship with the National Federation of the Blind.

For greater compatibility with screen readers commonly used to relay information to blind web users, Expedia engineers have attached text to pictures and structured the website code in a way that allows users of assistive technology to navigate product pages.

Code now structured to make site easier to navigate for assistive technology users

The OTA giant has an Expedia Accessibility Technology Team of front-end developers and testers who design and test site improvements that make the Expedia.com and Travelocity.com websites as inclusive as possible.

Expedia said in a statement that inclusive enhancements – such as for blind users, those who require captioning for audio or video and those who don’t use a computer mouse – improve the user experience for all travellers. Moreover, while recent activity has been focused on the current site, it is also working to educate and train all of its engineers to design and develop their products, mobile and desktop, with accessibility in mind.

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