The opera findability problem

What classical art teaches us about digital findability

One of my favourite ways to unwind at the end of a long day is listening to opera while my dog, Korra, plays at the dog park. The music takes me back to when I was younger and trying to make it as an opera singer. Back then, I constantly wrestled with one frustrating question: “Why don’t more people go to the opera?”

Just like other classical performing arts, opera has been losing audiences for years. For a long time, the opera world assumed people simply didn’t care anymore. They believed modern audiences lacked the patience for epic storytelling. Or the sophistication to appreciate it.

A lesson from the digital world of user-centred design reveals a different explanation.

The centrepiece of the digital world

Digital product design revolves around the user. They are at the centre. Every menu, button, and layout is built around how real people think, feel, and navigate. Digital creators quickly learned a hard truth. Products that people don’t use do not survive.

When an app or website suffers from low engagement, modern product teams don’t blame the audience or assume people “just don’t care.” Instead, they look at the user experience. They ask critical questions:

• Can users actually find what they are looking for?
• Is the site structure logical?
• Is internal company jargon hiding the real value of the product?

Over time opera lost its support. Dress codes, unfamiliar languages, expensive tickets, and intimidating venues blocked audiences from connecting with the music and stories.

Misplaced priorities: the 16% we leave behind

Despite knowing how crucial user interaction is, we don’t prioritise it for everyone. According to the World Health Organisation, over 16% of the global population, more than 1.3 billion people, lives with a disability. Yet countless new websites and apps launch each day without basic digital accessibility. Before these products even go live, millions of potential users are shut out, unable to navigate, interact, or find what they need.

When digital design prioritises flashy visual trends over accessibility standards, it repeats opera’s mistake: form over function, and art over audience connection. Design flaws like low colour contrast, missing keyboard controls, or unlabelled icons lock people out.

Bad design mistakes exclusion for disinterest. It assumes disabled users abandoned a site because they “didn’t want the product.” In reality, they simply couldn’t get past the front door.

Opening the curtains for everyone

True findability isn’t just about clear navigation menus or smart search bars for the average user—it’s about universal access. If a feature or service isn’t accessible to everyone, it isn’t truly findable.

To me, opera never lost its magic; it simply made itself too hard to find. As designers, strategists, and creators, our job is to ensure our digital products don’t make the same mistake. By placing accessibility first and centring every user, we open the curtains and invite the entire audience in.

How Silverstripe builds for everyone

Here’s how we put that belief into practice at Silverstripe. Accessibility isn’t a finishing touch—it’s a starting point. Inclusion begins in the brainstorm stage, long before a single line of code is written. And it stays central throughout the process, from visual designers to developers to quality testers.

We catch problems early, because a glitch spotted in week one is far cheaper—and far less stressful—than one discovered the week before launch. And we hold the line on quality, running automated and manual tests. These include screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, and colour contrast checks. We treat accessibility bugs the same way we’d treat a major security flaw. Nothing goes live until they are fixed. For us, a website that isn’t usable for everyone isn’t finished.

Recognised accessibility experts

Our team helps organisations tear down digital walls and meet web accessibility standards. We also help them build online experiences where technology never holds anyone back. Whether you need expert feedback on an existing site or a long-term partner to build an accessible product from scratch, we’re here to help.

We offer:

• Accessibility Audit: We test your site against official guidelines (WCAG 2.2). We deliver a detailed audit report, followed by a session with our team to walk through the results together.
• Strategic Accessibility Consultation: We help you identify risks, weigh your options. We build a clear, step-by-step plan so you know exactly what comes next.

The curtains are open. Let’s make sure everyone can walk through.

Because your users should spend their time using your website in a valuable way, not playing hide and seek with it. Read more about our findability-related services.