An accessible design philosophy recognizes the various techniques and technologies that people with disabilities use to engage with your product. In digital accessibility discussions, the “product" in question is typically a website, mobile app, or digital kiosk.
So, why is accessible design important? For starters, every business has customers with disabilities. Worldwide, at least one billion people live with some form of disability (and that doesn’t include temporary and situational disabilities, which affect everyone at some point or another).
Accessible design also opens up a path to inclusive design, which seeks to create equivalent experiences for users of all backgrounds and abilities. When you have a truly inclusive product, it’s engaging for a wider range of users.
Building an accessible design philosophy takes time, and you’ll need to get your entire organization involved. Here are a few ways to get started.
1. Be prepared to discuss the benefits of accessible design
Your organization has a social responsibility (and in most cases, a legal responsibility) to accommodate people with disabilities. Ethically, you need to provide an equitable experience for those users.
But when you’re trying to shift your company’s culture, “we have to do it" isn’t a very compelling argument. Focusing on the practical benefits of accessibility will help you get other members of your team on board — and help them treat accessibility as a core value, not a one-time project.
Fortunately, accessible design has clear benefits:
- Improved brand reputation. Customers care about social values, and accessibility demonstrates a commitment to your users.
- Improved search engine optimization (SEO). About 68% of online experiences start with a search engine, and the best practices of accessibility are strongly aligned with the best practices of SEO.
- Reduced legal risk. Many countries have laws that require businesses to make their websites and apps accessible to people with disabilities. Focusing on accessibility improves compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), the European Accessibility Act, and other non-discrimination laws.
- An enhanced user experience. Accessible design makes your website more predictable, perceivable, and useful for all users — regardless of the technologies they use to browse the web.
By establishing the practical benefits of digital accessibility, you can convince key stakeholders to treat it as a priority. Often, that mindset is the essential ingredient for long-term success.
Related: The Business Case for an Accessible Website
2. Focus on continuous improvement, not perfection
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the international standards for digital accessibility. The document contains guidance for addressing dozens of barriers that impact people with disabilities that affect their hearing, vision, cognition, and mobility — but even WCAG acknowledges that “perfect accessibility" doesn’t exist.
You cannot create web content that works the same way for every user. If you set perfection as your goal, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
This does not mean that you shouldn’t set goals; WCAG Level AA conformance is achievable, and for most organizations, it’s an excellent objective. In the long term, however, you should try to continuously improve your product for people with disabilities. That might mean going past WCAG or thinking outside of the box to find new enhancements that will impact your users.
Related: Web Accessibility is About Progress, Not Perfection
3. Actively involve people with disabilities
Wherever possible, you should involve the disability community. That includes users, staff members, professional testers, and other key stakeholders with disabilities.
This is especially important when testing and remediating web content. You need to understand why each improvement matters, and folks with disabilities can provide crucial insight — along with suggestions for addressing problems in a way that makes sense.
Some quick tips to keep in mind:
- Include contact information in your website’s accessibility statement. While you shouldn’t depend on your users to find every accessibility barrier, they might find issues and make suggestions that lead to usability improvements.
- Don’t assume that a person with a disability has an extensive knowledge of WCAG or the best practices of digital accessibility.
- Don’t assign the work of accessibility to a single person — especially a person with a disability. Accessible design requires a team effort.
Related: When Testing for Accessibility, Don't Put the Burden on Employees with Disabilities
4. Build accessibility into your product development process
Building for accessibility is relatively easy. Fixing existing issues might be more difficult (and more expensive).
Before you begin building a website, mobile app, or any other digital product, make sure accessibility is a core component of development:
- If your design team utilizes user experience (UX) personas, include UX personas with disabilities.
- Plan for accessibility audits at regular intervals. Don’t wait until after your product’s release to begin testing.
- Provide accessibility training for developers, designers, and content creators.
- Set a clear goal for WCAG conformance. Create benchmarks to keep your team motivated and gauge your progress.
- Publish an accessibility statement. Even if you haven’t met your WCAG conformance goal, an accessibility statement can be a helpful resource for users that shows your organization’s commitment.
Your accessibility partner can help you build a shared commitment to inclusive design. To learn more, download the free Developing the Accessibility Mindset eBook or send us a message to connect with an expert.
