What are screen readers?
Many people think that using screen readers to view websites is something only people with disabilities need to do. However, we can all benefit from this technology at times. For example, sometimes our eyes get tired due to looking at a screen for too long. In addition, the blue light from screens has been proven to cause sleeplessness in some individuals. While it is important to take regular breaks during the day and to disengage from technology a few hours before bedtime, using dark mode and larger, better spaced text in the Immersive Reader can also help greatly. This can help greatly as our eyesight gradually deteriorates with age.
Screen readers can help people with disabilities…and everyone else.
Many people think that using screen readers to view websites is something only people with disabilities need to do. However, we can all benefit from this technology at times. For example, sometimes our eyes get tired due to looking at a screen for too long. In addition, the blue light from screens has been proven to cause sleeplessness in some individuals. While it is important to take regular breaks during the day and to disengage from technology a few hours before bedtime, using dark mode and larger, better spaced text in the Immersive Reader can also help greatly. This can help greatly as our eyesight gradually deteriorates with age.
Text to voice, voice to text and reader mode.
To improve the readability of this site, we recommend using a free browser extension to display text in an easier to read form and/or read it aloud. I have found that the best performance is achieved by using several different apps. While the Immersive Reader in Edge and the Chrome extension version of the Immersive Reader can be very useful, they have some downsides, such as displaying bulleted lists as normal text. Speechify is more effective at reading bulleted lists aloud using the screenshot function. After testing a few different options, I recommend the free Helperbird browser extension, which offers even more if a cheap annual subscription is paid. There is a Helperbird extension for Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox. Mac users can also install Edge and Chrome on Mac iOS and install the extension if they wish.