Keeping Web Design Simple: Combatting Accessibility Issues in the Modern World.

Most web designers in America likely never worry—nor even consider—how difficult it might be for potential users to retrieve and view content online because of slow connectivity or lack of reliable Internet access. The reality is that many people in the United States do not have stable broadband, some have no access at all where they live, and some simply can’t afford it.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) generated the 2019 Broadband Deployment Report, which indicates over 21 million people in the U.S. do not have access to broadband, and over 162 million people are operating at below-normal broadband speeds. Millions of Americans are living in the shadows of the digital world.
This sad fact is sure to seed many problems, the most annoying of which undoubtedly being the slow death one experiences while staring in vain at the “never-ending swirl”.

The Digital Divide
As a lifelong resident of the Arkansas Boondocks, a.k.a. the Middle of Nowhere, I have personal frustrations related to this topic. More often than I care to remember, I have found myself sitting in the McDonald’s parking lot on my laptop on a Sunday at a quarter to midnight, 25 miles from my rural home, piggybacking on the restaurant Internet, rushing to get an assignment turned in before the deadline, screaming inside (and sometimes outside—the struggle is real, people), and angry that I pay good money for spotty, unreliable Internet service that always leaves me in the lurch at the worst possible moments.
But I am certainly not alone. It’s been shown by BroadbandNow Research, using the FCC data referenced above and performing manual diagnostics of thousands of addresses picked randomly, that the number of people with no access to broadband is closer to 42 million. It was no surprise at all to me that Arkansas ranks last in states according to rural broadband availability estimates.

The discrepancy in the numbers is due to the way the FCC gathered their data; they used census info that lumps residences together in blocks; even if only one house in that block has access, all homes in that block were included in the count. The FCC now says they will change their method of data collection in the future to ensure more accurate representation of the facts.

In the Meantime
In the meantime, millions have been quarantined in their homes, relying on Internet that is simultaneously slowing due to the increase in traffic. People are working from home, schooling from home, shopping from home, and although some are trying to get “back to normal”, the reality is that it could

be years before the Covid crisis is resolved and people are able to relax their dependence on the Internet. Most have returned to activities outside the home, but the tide has officially turned, and a new way of life has emerged—short of the Apocalypse, I don’t see the need for online communication going away, ever. People love being online.

Speedtest Global Index reports that global download speeds are up from March of this year, but still down slightly from this time last year as speed levels attempt to stabilize. Data shows that Internet infrastructures are seeming to adjust, but every day is a coin-toss in my house as to whether we will be able to get online. Have any of you tried to conduct four separate Zoom calls in one house at the same time? It’s not fun. It’s not easy. It’s “virtually” impossible.
The need for countrywide broadband access is something that must be addressed by the government, but funding requests for this purpose have been continuously vetoed. Parents who are still concerned about Covid are keeping their kids home, and many of those kids are struggling to keep up with their in-class cohorts. My own children are virtual students, and two of them went from A- and B- work to D’s and F’s on their nine-week report card. We are currently moving from bedroom desks to the kitchen table where I can see them from my own desk, check on them periodically, be available for them if they have questions, and make sure there is no “goofing off” when there shouldn’t be. But none of those things address the poor connectivity and our constant companion, the “never ending swirl”.

What We Can Do
Web designers will inevitably use the most sophisticated tools at their disposal to create the most impressive content possible. But they must also concern themselves with questions like, “If this video doesn’t load, what other option does the user have?” Some designers love to add all the “bells and whistles”, but those additives can be speedbumps in these rural Arkansas “warmspots” and cause great delay and frustration. Smashstack wrote a great article about this very issue from the viewpoint of the business owner; slow connections will deter potential customers from visiting a site with needless “fluff” that prevents pages from loading in a timely manner. The article cites several good suggestions, such as:

• Adopt a minimalist design, with simple formatting and mostly text.
• Offer two site options—one with all available features, and one with less, both linking to the other. It may mean more work for the person maintaining the sites, but it offers those who can’t load the most sophisticated version another alternative.
• Use “responsive design”, which usually applies to mobile viewing but may combat some of the issues by filtering out the aspects that use too much bandwidth to load.
• Apply optimization techniques that they refer to as “old school”, such as pixilation and image file interlacing.

These shortcuts will help users who struggle with broadband speed avoid irritation and make their online experience much more enjoyable, and if they enjoy their visit to your site, they are more apt to make return visits. Web designers may not see the worth overall, but it is at least a topic that they should consider. And since the “Information Superhighway” is a global thoroughfare, these concerns also pertain to the far corners of civilization. Simpler web design brings us all closer together.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I simply must get back to the never-ending swirl…

Sources

Federal Communications Commission. “2019 Broadband Deployment Report.” Wireline Competition, 29 May 2019. https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/reports/broadband-progress-reports/2019-broadband-deployment-report

Busby, John; Tanberk, Julia; BroadbandNow Team,” FCC Reports Broadband Unavailable to 21.3 Million Americans, BroadbandNow Study Indicates 42 Million Do Not Have Access.” BroadbandNow Research, 3 Feb 2020. https://broadbandnow.com/research/fcc-underestimates-unserved-by-50-percent

Kang, Cecelia; Alba, Davey; Satariano, Adam. “Surging Traffic Is Slowing Down Our Internet.” The New York Times, 20 May 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/business/coronavirus-internet-traffic-speed.html

“Global Speeds September 2020.” Speedtest Global Index, accessed 22 Oct 2020. https://www.speedtest.net/global-index#mobile

U-T Letters. “Your Say: How is virtual schooling going so far?” The San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Sep 2020. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/story/2020-09-12/your-say-how-is-virtual-schooling-going-so-far

Kris.” Life in the Slow Lane: Web Designs for Slow Internet Connections.” SMASHSTACK, 13 May 2015. https://www.smashstack.com/articles/life-in-the-slow-lane-web-designs-for-slow-internet-connections/