When I built this site to emulate the dense, colorful aesthetic of Japanese web design, I made a promise to myself: it would be accessible. Every decorative element, every bright color, every packed sidebar. None of it would come at the cost of usability.
The Myth of the Trade-Off
There’s a persistent myth in web design that accessibility and aesthetics are at odds. That making a site screen-reader friendly means making it boring. That sufficient color contrast means muted colors.
This is simply not true. You can have bright red headers and readable text. You can have dense layouts and proper semantic structure. You can have animated badges and respect prefers-reduced-motion.
What This Site Does
- Semantic HTML5 β Every element uses the correct tag. Navigation is
<nav>, articles are<article>, the sidebar is<aside>. - ARIA labels β Screen readers can navigate this site’s complex layout without confusion.
- Skip links β Keyboard users can jump straight to content.
- Color contrast β Despite the vivid palette, all text meets WCAG AA contrast ratios.
- Reduced motion β All animations are disabled for users who prefer reduced motion.
It’s Not Extra Work
If you’re building accessibility in from the start, it’s not extra work. It’s just the work. The real extra work comes from building an inaccessible site and trying to retrofit it later.
Start accessible. Stay accessible. Your future users (all of them) will thank you.