An Introduction to Digital Accessibility

Digital accessibility is essential to ensure everyone has equal opportunities online. From working, shopping, banking and healthcare, to maintaining friendships on social media, the web has a significant impact on all our lives. This can be difficult, at times, for people with disabilities, due to inaccessible design. Here at AccessIT, our goal is to educate everyone on the importance of digital accessibility and how to accomplish accessible design in your own projects. Keep reading to find out more about digital accessibility and why it is important.

What is Digital Accessibility?

Digital or web accessibility ensures that technologies, websites and apps can be used by anyone, regardless of their disability or ability, by allowing everyone to interact, understand, navigate and contribute to the web. All disabilities need to be considered including neurological, cognitive, auditory, physical, speech, and visual impairments (W3C, 2021).

For example, many people with a physical disability cannot use a mouse to navigate the web. An accessible website will allow users to navigate using keyboard shortcuts instead, and speech input technologies can be used to dictate keyboard instructions (W3C, 2021). Other examples include adding alt-text and compatibility with screen readers for visually impared individuals, as well as close-captioned videos for auditory impaired individuals (W3C, 2021).

Here is a Ted Talk that goes into detail about digital accessibility:

https://www.ted.com/talks/judy_brewer_why_we_need_a_more_accessible_digital_landscape

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Digital Accessibility Laws and Regulations

The three most significant guidelines for digital accessibility are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), and Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

The WCAG, produced by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), is the most widely used international standard regarding digital accessibility. It focuses on the four principles of accessibility: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust. Each principle has their own set of guidelines, which are categorized using three levels of accessibility: A, AA, AAA (Bureau of Internet Accessibility, 2019).

Perceivable

Information and user interface must be easily perceived by the user. This principle is the most important for people who are audibly or visually impaired. A combination of visual and sound communication is necessary to ensure they can perceive the information provided (Rallol, 2021). Alt-text, closed-captions, and high contrast visuals are all included in this set of regulations (Bureau of Internet Accessibility, 2019).

Operable

The user interface and navigation must be operable for all users. All individuals, regardless of disability or ability, should be confident and feel in control when using the digital interface. This set of guidelines includes keyboard accessibility, navigation tactics and providing enough time to read information (Bureau of Internet Accessibility, 2019).

Understandable

All users, regardless of ability or disability, must be able to understand how to use the interface, as well as the information provided. This includes people with cognitive impairments, linguistic differences and different levels of education. Readability, predictability and input assistance are included in this set of guidelines (Bureau of Internet Accessibility, 2019).

Robust

The content must be robust and compatible with different devices and assistive technologies. It is impossible to predict the devices individuals will use to view the web and apps, so it is important that the content works with a wide range of technology. This includes older technology, different display sizes, screen magnifiers and screen readers (Bureau of Internet Accessibility, 2019).

You can access the WCAG here to read more about specific guidelines.

Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)

The AODA was created in 2005, and ensures organizations and businesses follow accessibility standards for people with disabilities. Their goal is to become fully accessible by 2025 (Hammerhead, 2021). According to the AODA, all business or nonprofit organizations with 50 or more employees and all public sector organizations must meet WCAG 2.0 standards by law (Ontario, 2021).

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

The ADA is a civil law created in 1990 that prevents disability based discrimiation. Including all areas of accessibility, such as digital technologies, transportation, commercial facilities, and government services, the ADA ensures everyone has equal opportunities, regardless of their disability (Hammerhead, 2021).

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Anyone should be able to use and contribute to the digital space, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. Through regulations and guidelines, the internet is on its way to becoming an accessible space for everyone.

Stay tuned for next week's blog, where we will discuss best practices and tools for website accessibility.

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References

Bureau of Internet Accessibility. (2019, September 13). What are the four major categories of accessibility? Bureau of Internet Accessibility. Retrieved from https://www.boia.org/blog/what-are-the-four-major-categories-of-accessibility.

Codecademy. (n.d.). What is Digital Accessibility? Codecademy. Retrieved from https://www.codecademy.com/articles/what-is-digital-accessibility.

Hammerhead. (2020). WCAG, Aoda & Ada Compliance. Hammerhead. Retrieved from https://codehammerhead.com/services/wcag-ada-aoda-compliance/.

James, G. (2021, June 23). Don't think of accessibility as a one-off project. Siteimprove. Retrieved from https://siteimprove.com/en/blog/web-accessibility-is-a-process-not-a-quick-fix/.

Ontario. (2021). How to make websites accessible. ontario.ca. Retrieved from https://www.ontario.ca/page/how-make-websites-accessible.

Rallo, A. (2021). A Practical Handbook on Accessible Graphic Design. RGD. Retrieved from https://www.rgd.ca/database/files/library/RGD_AccessibilityHandbook_2021_09_28.pdf.

W3C. (2021, October 6). Introduction to web accessibility. Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Retrieved from https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-intro/.

WebAIM. (2021). The WebAIM million annual accessibility analysis. WebAIM. Retrieved from https://webaim.org/projects/million/.