What is digital accessibility and why should we care about it?

Digital accessibility ensures that websites, applications, and documents are designed and developed in a way that makes them usable by everyone, including people with disabilities.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) explain how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities. The EU Web Accessibility Directive references WCAG as the standard to follow and the European Accessibility Act, coming in 2025, will likely follow suit.

POUR Principles

WCAG is built on four guiding principles, often referred to as the POUR Principles.

Perceivable

Your digital content (websites, applications, digital documents) must be presented in ways that everyone can perceive - as we don't all perceive content in the same way.

For example:

• Providing text alternatives for important images ensures a person with a visual impairment, who cannot see images, will be able to hear that text alternative read via their screen reader.
• Providing captions on a video ensures a person who is d/Deaf or hard of hearing will be able to read the dialogue that is not available to them audibly, on screen as text.

Operable

User interface components and navigation must be operable. This includes keyboard accessibility, providing sufficient time to read and interact, avoiding content that could cause seizures or physical discomfort, and designing navigation that is easy to use.

We also need to be aware of the various technologies people use to interact with digital content and ensure that the applications we create can be used easily with them.

For example:

• People with motor disabilities or who use screen readers rely on a keyboard to navigate and operate applications.
• People with limited dexterity rely on target sizes being large enough for interactive elements to operate them.

Understandable

The content of a website or application and how it operates must be understandable. This means that everyone, regardless of ability, must be able to easily navigate your website or application, perform desired tasks, without running into any roadblocks or barriers, and also understand the content and information presented to them.

For example:

• Providing clear labels for form fields, additional instructions, if needed, and appropriate error messaging to aid with the completion of a form.
• Content is clear and easy to understand and anything that may not be commonly understood is appropriately explained.
• Interactive controls, buttons, links, accordions, menus etc., must be clearly identifiable so that users will understand how to interact with these controls.

Robust

Your digital content must be robust enough so that it can be accessed by a wide variety of devices, browsers and assistive technologies.

For example:

• Building websites and applications that will work with both current and future technologies such as devices, operating systems, browsers etc., and also allow for backwards compatibility with some older technologies to cater to those who are not always up-to-date with technology advancements.
• Validating your code to ensure that no issues will arise from semantic errors.

Why care?

Digital accessibility is not just about being compliant or meeting legal requirements - it's morally the right thing to do. It ensures that everyone, regardless of ability, can access and interact with digital content, resulting in a more inclusive and diverse online environment.

Plus, accessible design often improves overall usability, leading to a better user experience for everyone.

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Let's build a digital world where accessibility isn't just a feature but a fundamental right.

Stay tuned for updates, and let's make the digital landscape accessible for all.