- \n
- Blindness, including weak vision and color blindness<\/li>\n
- Cognitive limitations including the environmental-dependent perception limits<\/li>\n
- Hearing loss and deafness<\/li>\n
- Motor disabilities, including temporary ones<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Accessibility design focuses on more than the development of web products for people with physical or cognitive limitations, as mentioned above. In general, accessibility design standards exist to make online content more friendly and accessible for all users. The responsibility of the design team is to apply accessibility design towards text, images, sounds, interactive elements, code, markup, etc., making them browser and device compatible.<\/p>\n
Accessibility design is demanded on various levels, including governmental<\/h2>\n
Applying accessibility in design is a continuous process, only gaining steam since the 2000s and especially after 2010. Compliance with accessibility requirements is inevitable, considering the attention given to state and governmental levels and the part they play. However, despite similar demands, approaches may differ.<\/p>\n
For instance, the EU and the US practice disability, anti-discrimination, and industry-specific laws. The US Access Board established Section 508<\/a> standards, which apply to electronic and information technology procured by federal agencies. The European Accessibility Act (EAA)<\/a> is a bit different and demands digital accessibility throughout the value chain of manufacturers, authorized representatives, importers, and distributors of digital products and services.<\/p>\n
Teams working on web accessibility have an indispensable guide, called Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)<\/a>. These guidelines were launched by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)<\/a>\u2019s and orchestrate all initiatives in the accessibility design sphere.<\/p>\n
To simplify, WCAG are organized by various success criteria distributed across three conformance levels:<\/p>\n
- \n
- A \u2014 This is fundamental accessibility of web products. For example, perceivable criteria on this level may suggest providing captions for video and audio and advise against playing the content automatically.<\/li>\n
- AA \u2014 If you comply with AA standards, it means you’ve eliminated most barriers people with disabilities face when using the web. An example of this can be the requirement for websites and applications to support both landscape and portrait orientations.<\/li>\n
- AAA \u2014 Although level AAA is the accessibility target that should be hit, it\u2019s a tall order. It may require a lot of effort and finances to upgrade a website to the ultimate AAA level. Take navigation standards as an example; users should be informed where they are with each click, all links should be clearly identified, while the content should be neatly organized with headings for an easier read.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Accessibility](\"https:\/\/intellias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pic-01-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSource: WCAG \u2013 Quick Facts and Guide<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
The current 2.1 version of WCAG came on board in July 2018 with seventeen new success criteria. These added criteria fill in the WCAG 2.0 gaps of mobile convenience, low-vision issues, and cognitive disorders.
\n![\"Accessibility](\"https:\/\/intellias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pic-02-2.jpg\")
\nSource: WCAG 2.1 \u2013 Supporting Accessibility Worldwide <\/em><\/p>\nAccessibility is a legal, moral, and business imperative<\/h2>\n
We touched on the legal imperatives that guide businesses towards wider adoption of accessibility design, but there\u2019s one more thing to remember in legal terms. Legal regulations not only impose accessibility standards but also protect people with disabilities. Have you heard of Nike being sued for inaccessibility<\/a>? In 2017 they were sued for lack of website accessibility for low-vision users. Their websites d\u0456dn\u2019t work with screen readers, they lacked alt-text, and used empty links. So the advice is not to wait for the lawsuits to destroy your business or reputation.<\/p>\n
Moral aspects and values help companies to stand out, showing that indifference is not an attractive virtue in modern society. Globally, around one billion people<\/a> experience some form of disability. Accessibility means paying attention to 15% of the world\u2019s population with their specific, but quite natural needs and desires. Likewise, each person with a disability sees, hears, and experiences life differently. So are we really that different? With this in mind, accessibility UX should be a moral standard that welcomes diversity but provides equal opportunities to the global population.<\/p>\n
From a business point of view, not offering accessible websites potentially means losing millions of clients. According to the American Institutes for Research<\/a>, people with disabilities in the US are a hidden market with a total income of $490 billion (all who are working-age citizens). This group should not be ignored. By making your web products accessible, you will reap the many benefits these users can bring you. Besides, accessible websites are highly appreciated by Google, which means accessibility web development will bring better search results and a bigger audience. Accessible websites are also perceived as SEO friendly and with greater usability, allowing business owners to expect a higher search engine ranking.<\/p>\n
What is persona spectrum and how it is used in accessibility web development<\/h2>\n
The imperatives of accessibility in design is best manifest in the persona spectrum approach. At Intellias<\/a>, we imagine our potential users as people who fall into one of three categories:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Those with a permanent disability<\/li>\n
- People with a temporary disability<\/li>\n
- Users with situational disabilities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Accessibility](\"https:\/\/intellias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pic-03-2.jpg\")
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