Summary
PAC NYC built accessibility into its digital ecosystem from the very beginning, creating a smoother and more usable experience for all visitors. Through user journey testing, Equal Entry and Substrakt identified real‑world barriers in ticket buying and donations and helped the team fix them before launch. This approach shows how testing actual user paths leads to better usability, higher conversions, and stronger trust.
The Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) stands out as a dream client because the organization prioritized accessibility as a core foundation from the very start. Rather than treating it as an afterthought, PAC NYC set a high standard for digital experiences by showing intentionality throughout the entire development process.
Unlike most organizations, PAC NYC didn’t treat accessibility as a late-stage requirement, a final hurdle, or a launch checklist. Organizations that tack accessibility on at the end of a project before launch end up designing clumsy solutions and workarounds. Because PAC NYC treated accessibility as a requirement at the beginning, it created the best user experience possible.
“Our digital presence required the same level of intentionality and care as our physical environment. To provide and maintain an accessible experience, we partnered with Substrakt and Equal Entry to implement best practices and incorporate accessibility reviews in our iterative process. By making accessibility an explicit goal, we’ve delivered a better experience for everyone,” says Leo Bowen, Digital Product Manager at PAC NYC in Removing barriers: A case study in digital accessibility.
The PAC NYC model: Accessibility as a foundation
We partnered with the Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) and digital agency Substrakt to help launch PAC NYC’S new digital ecosystem. PAC NYC operates as a multi-space performing arts center at the northeast corner of the World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, New York City. This project defied standard, cookie-cutter website conventions. It involved a brand-new building, a new organization, and an incredibly aggressive timeline.
Most organizations take the path of building the site, launching it, and dealing with accessibility complaints later. But PAC NYC chose the smarter, more efficient route. They integrated accessibility into their development cycle from Day 1.
By the time we stepped in to conduct our audit, the project remained ahead of the curve, even with persisting usability challenges. For example, navigating a seat map or completing a donation flow often poses nightmares for screen reader users if the interface relies solely on visual cues (like icons or color) without structured, actionable code underneath.
Together with Substrakt, we did more than deliver a list of bugs. We acted as partners in the development process. When we identified a “blocking” issue in a ticket-purchase flow, we didn’t just point to it. We collaborated with their developers on many different solutions, so it worked intuitively for every user. PAC NYC made this easy because they wanted the issues fixed.
The result? A digital experience that challenged simple “compliance” labels. It created a usable, seamless, and inclusive user experience.
Auditing the ticket-buying experience
One of the most important steps in any online shopping experience comes in making purchases. If any part of that user journey contains friction, it can mean the difference between making and losing the sale. In other words, inaccessible experiences affect revenue.
Equal Entry’s methodical process of auditing the user journey follows the steps real users would take to buy a ticket. The auditing process uncovered a problem when users select “Buy tickets” for a show. However, not everyone navigates a website with a mouse. Some use a keyboard or another input device. After selecting “Buy tickets,” the keyboard focus did not move to the first available date.
Instead, the keyboard-only user had to select Tab repeatedly as many as 30, 40, or even 50 times to finally land on the preferred show date. Substrakt solved the focus issue in the dialog box by adding a focus trap that automatically moved the keyboard focus to the first available date as soon as the dialog opens. This meant keyboard-only users only had to press Tab once to land on the first date.
The lesson here is that accessibility does more than ensure someone can complete a task. It’s also about how easily and efficiently they can do it. Every time a user has to press the Tab key to navigate to the next date, they waste time and effort. While a sighted user with a mouse can scan and click within seconds, a keyboard-only user may spend minutes navigating the same interface.
Optimizing the donation experience
Many nonprofit organizations depend on donations. The online donation experience must feel seamless and as easy as possible. Equal Entry uncovered an issue with the donation process. Some donation processes save steps by providing preset donation amounts.
Equal Entry found that when a keyboard user selected a predefined amount and pressed the Tab key, the focus jumped to the “Other amount” input field despite selecting a fixed value. This created confusion as well as overrode the user’s selection. The process forced them to enter a custom amount instead. This defeats the purpose of preset donation amounts.
Before diving into a solution, it helps to understand how this works. The browser or assistive technology identifies interactive elements as a list. Keyboard users can navigate through them using Tab (next) or Shift+Tab (previous). For certain elements like radio buttons and dropdowns, they use arrow keys.
The $$$ buttons and the “Other amount” button function as a group of radio buttons, allowing only one selection, either by clicking or using arrow keys. The custom amount field activates only when “Other amount” is selected. For mouse users, clicking the custom field auto-selects “Other amount,” but this caused issues for keyboard users, who couldn’t easily access preset amounts.
The following image explains the ideal keyboard navigation sequence. The user presses Tab to navigate to “Select an amount to donate.” Then, they use the arrow keys to select an amount. Here’s where the decision comes in.
For a preset amount, pressing Tab skips the recognition field or the donate button. This depends on the amount. When selecting “Other amount,” pressing Tab moves to the custom amount field. After entering the amount, pressing Tab moves the focus to the recognition or donate button depending on the amount.
The solution involved disabling focus on the custom amount field unless “Other amount” was selected. This allowed users to Tab through preset amounts smoothly. An accessible donation form makes giving possible and easy.
Why your business needs a new approach to accessibility
Many companies hire auditors to scan hundreds or thousands of pages. Then, they feel overwhelmed with the results and don’t get started. That approach usually ends in frustration. Development teams feel overwhelmed by a laundry list of abstract technical errors.
We do things differently. We don’t just “scan” pages. We test user journeys.
We put ourselves in the customers’ seats, whether they buy tickets, make a donation, or research information. And we test the entire path. We look for existing friction, its causes, and specific fixes to help users accomplish their goals.
This constitutes a business strategy, not just a technical one, for three reasons:
- Reduce abandonment: When organizations optimize the checkout flow, donation process, or search tools for all users, their abandonment rates drop. An accessible site provides, by definition, a more usable site for everyone.
- Increase revenue: Cultural organizations and businesses alike thrive on conversions. Every barrier an access user faces represents a potential customer stopping their purchase mid-journey. Clearing those barriers constitutes a direct investment in your bottom line.
- Boost brand trust: An organization’s digital presence reflects its values. When users can successfully and independently use a site, they trust the organization more. They come back, they donate again, and they engage more deeply with the organization’s mission.
Accessibility represents a continuous improvement process, not a “one-and-done” project. As the PAC NYC case study proved, it requires a process of continuous improvement. Companies don’t need perfection on launch day. They need the right partner to help them build the path.
How Equal Entry partners with clients
You need more than a checklist. You need a partner who helps you build digital experiences that actually work for real users.
How Equal Entry supports your team:
- Scenario-based audits: We test the tasks that matter most to your organization, so you know exactly where users struggle and what to fix first.
- Collaborative remediation: Your developers get clear explanations, practical fixes, and support that reduces rework. We help your team build lasting capability, not just patch issues.
- Strategic training: We equip your team to design and build accessibly every day, reducing future defects and saving time, money, and frustration.
If you want digital experiences that make every user feel capable and welcome, we’re ready to help you get there.
Explore our accessibility services or reach out if you’re ready to strengthen your digital experiences.
