The World Wide Web is for everyone. As web designers and developers, we must ensure that we properly design and code websites including web tools that are accessible to everyone.

The power of the Web is in its universality.
Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.

Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web

In this world of ours that is rapidly evolving new technologies and development techniques, we must ensure no one gets left behind. Web Accessibility is a key factor in this evolution.


All websites and web tools are accessible to everyone less than 1% by default. However, it is up to us designers and developers to increase this percentage to at least 99.9%.


In this article, we will take a good look at what, why, and how including case studies on Web Accessibility. Let us proceed!



What is Web Accessibility?

Web Accessibility is the implementation within the inclusive practice of ensuring your website and web tools have no barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, and are usable by as many people as possible.


This means when we are designing and developing, we do not only think about people with disabilities that may include:

  • Mental
  • Physical
  • Cognitive
  • Intellectual

but make websites and web tools that are also accessible for people without disabilities, that may include:

  • People using mobile devices, and other devices with small screens
  • Older folks, with changing abilities due to aging
  • People with temporary injuries such as broken arm
  • Or those with slow network connections

We are all human, we are made from the same of the same flesh and blood, and we may be uniquely different, but we are all human. Providing accessible sites and tools is the right thing to do no matter the person's ability or circumstance.


Let us take a closer look at the importance of Web Accessibility.



Why is Web Accessibility important?

As the World Wide Web is evolving, making websites and web tools accessible to everyone is not just an ethics question. Although designing and developing websites and web tools while making them accessible is unquestionably the right thing to do, it is also a legal obligation in many jurisdictions, including most of Europe and the United States.


Your country will probably have laws governing Web Accessibility, the W3C keeps a list of Web Accessibility Laws & Policies by country. It is important to check out the specifics of your country to find out what your laws are because if no effort is made and people complain, you could be legally liable.


Businesses

Web Accessibility is also important for businesses. Beyond legal obligations and unquestionably being the right thing to do, Web Accessibility can help you strengthen your brand in business terms. With an accessible website or web tool you are aware and care of your customers and their needs.


By making a long-term commitment to accessibility, you increase the chances of your website being found on search engine optimization (SEO) which drives more traffic to your website by increasing its ranking in search engines. When you also offer a great user experience meaning all users can find what they are looking for effortlessly, you reach a wider audience increasing market reach and driving innovation.



Society & Individuals

Society and all individuals need Web Accessibility because improving web accessibility brings an increased quality of life. This means more independence and better social integration.


The Web is an increasingly important resource, therefor improving accessibility within can also increase education, employment, and health care. Education allows us to use logic when making decisions while developing our critical thinking.


A person with a disability is more likely to be unemployed than a person without a disability, therefor embracing accessibility we gain access to new talent, and it also leads to better health and can result in cost savings in several areas. By creating accessible websites and web tools that do not exclude people, the results can be rewarding.


Let us dive right into the implementation of Web Accessibility.



How can we implement Web Accessibility?

Web Accessibility should be considered from the very beginning of our projects. Just as we design and develop for a specific target audience, we now include disabled users. We must test early and often for missing features such as alternative text, links that are being used as buttons, or bad link text.


Ask yourself:

  • Can users navigate within the interface using just the keyboard?
  • Is my interactive content usable for people using just screen readers?
  • When my links open in a new tab will visually impaired people know about it?

We can and must keep note of potential problem areas within our content and try our best to fix them as part of our workflow.


With numerous checklists and sets of guidelines out there available for accessibility to be tested, it all may be overwhelming at first glance. A nice place to start is with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The Consortium is made up of member organizations that maintain full-time staff working together in the development of standards for the World Wide Web. Founded in 1994 by Tim Berners-Lee the inventor of the World Wide Web.


The W3C has established a body of guidelines for assessing web accessibility, these are called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the document is large but precise. These guidelines describe a set of criteria that are split up into four main categories, perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. We can use the criteria that are split up but complementary to test our website or web tool content for accessibility as we must follow them.


Perceivable:
  • Content that can be perceived equally using more than one sense.
  • Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive meaning easily realized and understood.

Operable:
  • Websites can be used regardless of device.
  • User interface components and navigation must be operable meaning keyboard accessible and no barriers to any relevant information.

Understandable:
  • Users can understand the content and navigation.
  • Information and user interface components must be easily read and predictably operable.

Robust:
  • Website or web tool works with assistive technologies.
  • Information and user interface components must be strong enough that they can be reliable to work swiftly with assistive technologies while being healthy for all users.

All of these principles work together to help you create websites and web tools that are accessible to everyone. By default, we need to be designing clean and consistent layouts including writing predictable and concise code.


For keeping your design layouts clean and consistent you can have a look at The 15 Rules Every UX Designer Should Know There are also great resources out there, typically the tool you use for designing may provide documentation around UI/UX topics including tips & tricks.


For writing predictable and concise code you can have a look at Mozilla Developer Network (MDN). MDN Web Docs is a documentation repository and a great learning resource. There are also great resources out there but W3C and MDN Web Docs are really nice.


Let us quickly look at some case studies on how Web Accessibility has impacted positively and negatively businesses, individuals, and society.



Case Studies

When Web Accessibility has helped



When Web Accessibility has not been fully implemented



Note: There are a lot more case studies out there involving Web Accessibility. Go to your preferred search engine and simply type “Web Accessibility Case Studies AND Lawsuits”.



Conclusion

The World Wide Web is for everyone, providing accessible sites and tools is the right thing to do no matter the person's ability or circumstance. We have only just covered the tip of the iceberg, overall try to educate yourself with the tools you use.


Thank you for reading this far, hopefully, the article has provided you with enough curiosity to blast off to learn more about Web Accessibility. Remember to implement Web Accessibility from the beginning and through out your workflow.


Happy Learning!



Further Reading and Resources



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