This extension is inspired by @marcysutton’s no-mouse-days library and allows developers to disable mouse feedback during development. By installing plexiglass on a page, users can still see the page without being able to “touch” it with a mouse. Additionally, that plexiglass can be tinted opaque, further restricting the way the user can interact with the page.
This is accomplished by:
– removing pointer events
– adding a black overlay to the page
With mouse interactions off, users can challenge themselves to navigate pages using solely the keyboard. With the screen overlay on, users will have to rely on the keyboard and a screen reader to use the page.
It’s a bit like manually testing your own code: if you know how it’s meant to behave, your own interactions with it will match the patterns your code expects; visually seeing how far away an element is on the page or noting visual landmarks will change the way you navigate with the keyboard and will influence your experience of how long or frustrating a task is.