Have you ever heard or read the words “web accessibility”?
Most of us use the internet in our everyday lives, but more often than not, the thought of making websites accessible to those who have disabilities aren’t being considered.
In WebAIM’s 2022 report on the accessibility of the top 1,000,000 home pages, they said that “…while the 2022 analysis saw small decreases in the number of detected accessibility errors and WCAG conformance failures, significant work remains to be done to make the web accessible to everyone.”
So today, we take part in the advocacy to spread the word and create awareness. Tune in as we learn from Gerson Lacdao, a former nurse turned web developer.
Gerson Lacdao is a WordPress frontend developer and web accessibility advocate. He works with non-profits and other digital agencies in creating inclusive websites that are compliant with relevant legislations worldwide. In his free time, he teaches WordPress, web accessibility, and best practices in web development.
In this episode, Gerson spreads awareness on web accessibility as he takes us back on his journey, sharing how he reached this point of having such an advocacy.
“Kapag naintindihan mo kasi kung pa’no ‘yong way nila to browse the websites, mas madali mo nang ma-include sa work mo ‘yong accessibility. It’s not just looking at a checklist, but more on empathizing with what they’re going through; how do you make it easy for them, and how do you lessen their frustrations. Mindset din and empathy with the people you’re doing it for.” – Gerson Lacdao
What you’ll learn from this episode:
Topics Covered:
05:06 – Life Before Freelancing: Growing up in Oriental Mindoro in a simple family and studying in Manila for his collegiate years
08:51 – The Start: Gerson’s early years in freelancing, starting as a writer to then managing WordPress websites and now focusing on web accessibility
14:03 – Part of the Problem: What web accessibility is all about + what Gerson realized after he took a course on web accessibility
18:46 – Make It Known: The challenge of spreading the word with regards to why web accessibility should be widely used in the country
21:26 – No Sleep: Hardships he’s gone through as he did BPO work and freelancing, then freelancing and nursing at the same time
26:21 – Fee is based on Value: Experiencing objections on the fee of his service and learning how to handle such objections
28:07 – Before and After: What’s the biggest win Gerson got after joining the Tribe? Aside from John, who else made an impact on how he treats his business today?
30:01 – From Survival to Living Life: Is it important for freelance starters to have a mentor or someone they look up to?
31:50 – Need a Break: What a real burnout looks like in Gerson’s space and how he overcomes that + Why people reach that point of...
