Bingo! Do you recognize these excuses about accessibility?

That's why there's now the Accessibility Bingo: a playful way to collect the classics that stakeholders come out with as soon as digital accessibility comes up.

You can find the bingo at bingo.elevenways.be.

How does it work?

Simple. Open the app and you get a bingo card full of statements you'll undoubtedly recognize:

• "We'll do accessibility in phase 2."
• "We've never had a complaint."
• "Isn't there a plugin that fixes that automatically?"
• "The automated scan gives 100%, so we're good."

Hear one of these drop during a meeting? Tick the box. Five in a row? Bingo! (Although it might be better not to cheer too loudly during the steering committee. Or to cheer that you actually got a bingo.)

Why a bingo?

Behind the wink there's a serious message. Each of these statements is a barrier that keeps websites and apps unusable for a large group of people. About 1 in 4 people has a disability that affects how they use digital services: from blindness and low vision to motor impairments, deafness or concentration problems. And since the European Accessibility Act, the obligation no longer applies only to government.

The bingo works as both a release valve and a mirror: by naming the excuses, you recognize them faster. And you can respond to them better. Because every statement on the card has a comeback. "Phase 2"? It rarely happens. "No complaints"? People who can't use your site usually drop off silently.

Play along

Try the bingo at your next project meeting, kick-off or stakeholder session. And who knows: maybe a full card is the perfect starting point for a good conversation about building truly accessible products.

From bingo to comeback

The bingo is only really complete when you also have something to say back. So below is the full list: every excuse with a comeback you can use straight away in your next meeting.

Denying the target audience

"Someone who is blind doesn't need our website anyway, right?"
Blind people bank, shop and work online, just like everyone else. They just don't come back when it doesn't work.

"Our users are young, they don't have disabilities."
Color blindness, dyslexia, ADHD, a broken wrist, …: disabilities come in all ages. You just don't see them in your analytics.

"We've never had a complaint from someone with a disability."
People who can't use your site rarely complain. They quietly drop off and go to the competitor.

"What percentage of our visitors is actually blind?"
You can't know: visitors who drop off don't show up in your numbers. In Europe, roughly one in four people lives with a disability.

"That's such a small group, it doesn't outweigh the costs."
One in four people has a disability. And everyone benefits: on a small screen, in bright sunlight, on a noisy train, …

"People with disabilities get help from family anyway, right?"
Being able to do your own banking or shopping isn't a luxury, it's privacy and independence. Nobody wants to need family for every form.

Procrastination

"We'll do accessibility in phase 2."
Phase 2 rarely happens. And fixing things afterwards is many times more expensive than building it right the first time.

"Let's go live first, we'll fix that later."
Later becomes never. After launch new priorities arrive, and the barriers stay up for those hitting them today.

"We'll put it on the backlog."
The backlog is where this kind of work quietly dies. Accessibility isn't a ticket but a quality requirement, just like security.

"First the MVP, then the nice-to-haves."
A product that excludes a quarter of people isn't viable. Accessibility belongs in the M of minimum.

"We'll pick it up with the next redesign."
That redesign is years away, and then this conversation starts all over again. Start small: fix the biggest barriers on your most important pages today.

Cost and effort

"How much extra is that going to cost?"
Included from the start it costs barely anything extra; fixing it afterwards does. And inaccessibility costs too: customers, lawsuits, reputation.

"We don't have budget for that."
Apparently there is budget to build it twice: once wrong and once again. Building it right the first time is the cheapest option.

"That will delay the whole schedule."
What really delays the schedule is repairing afterwards. Accessibility that runs alongside the regular work costs barely any extra time.

"Can't we just do the minimum to be compliant?"
Compliant is not the same as usable. The goal isn't a tick on an audit, but people who can actually use your site.

"Isn't there a plugin or tool that fixes this automatically?"
No. Overlays and accessibility widgets don't solve the real barriers and often get in the way of screen readers.

"Can't the intern just do that on the side?"
Accessibility is a craft, not a side task. Give it to people with knowledge and time, or invest in training.

Misconceptions about what it is

"Accessibility is only for blind people, right?"
It's also about vision, hearing, motor skills, concentration and comprehension. Think dyslexia, RSI, color blindness, migraines or simply getting older.

"We have alt texts, don't we? Then we're done."
Alt texts are one of dozens of criteria. And having an alt text doesn't automatically mean it's a good one. Keyboard, contrast, forms, structure, error messages: the list is longer.

"Our site works on mobile, so it's accessible."
Responsive and accessible are two completely different things. A site can scale perfectly and still be unusable with a keyboard or screen reader.

"An accessible site is ugly by definition."
You can't see accessibility from the outside. Good contrast, clear structure and calm interactions make design stronger.

"So nothing with color or animation is allowed anymore?"
Anything goes, as long as color isn't the only carrier of meaning and animation can be paused. Those are design constraints, not a ban.

"That comes at the expense of the design."
Good design IS accessible: it works for everyone who needs to use it. What gets lost isn't design, but decoration that was in the way.

"The automated scan gives 100%, so we're accessible."
An automated scan finds at most a third of the problems. An empty page scores 100 too. Manual testing remains necessary.

Shifting responsibility

"That's something for the developers."
A developer can't code away bad contrast, unreadable text or an illogical flow. Design, content and code all three have to do it.

"The CMS vendor is responsible for that."
The CMS delivers the building blocks, but your templates, content and images determine the result. And your name is on the site, not the CMS maker's.

"The designer has probably already taken that into account."
"Probably" is not a check. Put accessibility in the briefing and the definition of done, and test it.

"The template takes care of that, right?"
A template covers the basics at most. Everything you add — texts, images, colors, components — can break it again. And not every template is accessible anyway.

"Legal hasn't said anything about it."
Legal is about risk, not usability. And the law definitely exists: the European Accessibility Act has applied since June 2025.

Laws and regulations

"That law only applies to government, right?"
Not anymore. Since June 2025, the European Accessibility Act also applies to businesses: webshops, banks, telecom, e-books and more.

"Who actually checks that?"
Regulators, competitors and users who file a complaint. But the real question isn't who checks, but who you're driving away.

"What's the fine, actually? Maybe it's cheaper."
Factor in the lost customers, the lawsuits and the reputational damage too. And a fine doesn't make your site usable: that work comes on top.

"We'll just put an accessibility statement online, then we're done."
A statement describes accessibility, it doesn't replace it. An honest statement on an inaccessible site is a to-do list with your signature under it.

Classics

"I tested it with my eyes closed, works fine."
With your eyes closed you use your mouse on luck. A screen reader user works with a keyboard and hears structure, names, … . So test the way they work.

"My grandma manages just fine with it."
Good for your grandma, but one person is not a target audience. Accessibility is about everyone who sees, hears, moves or understands differently from you.

"Can't we make a separate accessible version?"
Separate versions go stale, miss features and mean double maintenance. One site that works for everyone is cheaper and more respectful.

"ChatGPT says it's fine."
A language model hasn't operated your site with a keyboard or screen reader. It says what sounds plausible, and that's not an audit.

"Contrast? On my screen I can see it fine."
Your screen isn't the norm. Just measure the contrast: the requirements are fixed and a contrast checker is free.