Websites & accessibility
How accessible websites can make the world fairer — and why this is important now
What is a11y?
“Accessibility is often abbreviated as the numeronym a11y, where the number 11 refers to the number of letters omitted. This parallels the abbreviations of internationalization and localization as i18n and l10n respectively.”
- Wikipedia
Not everyone experiences the world in the same way. Not all websites are created equal.
Digital accessibility (often referred to as a11y) is about creating online systems and services that work for the largest number of people possible. It’s about getting people the information they need in the best way possible through smart design, like switching out 11 letters between a and y to get to a11y!
We have all experienced websites that are difficult to navigate or seemingly make it hard to find the information you want. These challenges are multiplied if you have any form or disability or atypical need: people with visual impairments, hearing loss, intellectual disabilities, or any number of other very common life situations can find the experience of being online extra challenging.
As more and more essential parts of life — such as banking, health care, social services, and just simply being social — are increasingly designed with digital access in mind, the need to have a fair and equitable internet where we can all participate equally just grows and grows.
Through thoughtful and careful design and development, websites, platforms and other online services can be designed in ways that make the experience more accessible. Use of high contrast colour palettes, accessible fonts, designing for screen readers, reducing reliance on video and audio communication, and a whole host of other smart interventions mean that technology can be built in a better, more inclusive way. This, in essence, is the idea behind a11y.
Building a better web for all
A11y should be an ongoing journey and a process that never ends
Creating a world that is fairer for all is at the heart of the shared mission of the third sector. We have a shared responsibility to create technology that works for all.
We believe that it is not only important what you do but how you do it. Your values should be present not only in your mission but also in your ways of working. And this isn’t just a nice to have, by doing work in the right way, you get better results.
If we are excluding certain groups through inaccessible content, we are not only contributing to an unjust system but we are also missing out on the vital inputs and contributions from people who are often marginalised, people who often have the most direct experience of the issues we are all working on.
Accessibility requirements in the UK are changing
Accessibility is important for any organisation who has an online presence.
From 23rd September 2020 it is also a requirement for all UK public sector websites, intranets and extranets to meet the WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standard.
This also applies to British NGOs who are mostly financed by public funding, provide services that are essential to the public or aimed at disabled people.
To find out more about the changes to UK website accessibility requirements: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/accessibility-requirements-for-public-sector-websites-and-apps.
Where to go from here?
Accessibility testing for your organisation
Accessibility testing is the process of assessing a piece of software or hardware to see how likely it is to meet the needs of different people.
There are lots of great services online that allow you to automatically test certain elements of your site and get an automated score on different criteria. This form of quantitative accessibility testing can be a really useful way of getting a good overview of your site’s current a11y status. It’s a great place to start if you want to explore how your current site performs, and understand changes you can make to improve site accessibility.
However, automated testing only gives us one part of the picture and testing by users who have accessibility needs offers another perspective, a subjective and often richer level of analysis than can be achieved by automated testing alone.
When you’re designing and developing your site, it’s also important to carry out user testing and remember to engage with users who have a broad spectrum of accessibility needs.
The following resources can help test your site for a11y compliance:
- Axe: https://www.deque.com/axe/
- WAVE: http://wave.webaim.org/extension/
- Tenon: https://tenon.io/
- Siteimprove: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/siteimprove-accessibility/efcfolpjihicnikpmhnmphjhhpiclljc
- For more automated accessibility tools, see the GDS tool audit here: https://alphagov.github.io/accessibility-tool-audit/
Accessibility assessments at DEV
The Developer Society is a fully not for profit co-op digital agency working exclusively with charities, NGOs and mission driven organisations. We exist to bring our expertise and experience across development, design, project management, and strategy to the groups making the biggest impact in the world.
This includes some of the biggest and most innovative global changemakers such as: Samaritans, Macmillan Cancer Care, Oxfam International, Help Refugees, Mercy Corps, 38 Degrees, and many more.
At DEV, we believe in using technology to create a fairer, more just, and equitable world. As more and more of our society — and our work — moves online, a11y becomes more and more important.
We work with charities and nonprofits to integrate accessibility into the design and build of their sites, as well as providing advice and guidance on how existing sites can be improved for accessibility.
This ranges from design sprints for accessibility and user testing, to building great tech with accessibility at its core. We can also help you to develop and refine a project brief to support a11y, and provide a limited number of pro-bono hours each month to supporting organisations to improve website accessibility.
We want to support you to ensure sure your future web projects work for the largest amount of people possible.
For more information on a11y at DEV, contact our Partnerships Manager Molly: molly@dev.ngo
Angus, DEV’s in house Accessibility Tester
“Accessibility is really important because otherwise I can’t use websites”
— Angus Addenbrooke, Accessibility Tester at DEV
Angus is not only an Accessibility Tester with DEV but also an accomplished actor (you can see his IMDB page here), a dedicated volunteer with YMCA and other community initiatives, an advocate for disability rights, and easily the sharpest dresser in the DEV team.
Angus is supported by the DSWorkfit programme, which helps adults with Down’s Syndrome find employment and offers employers the chance to add some great talent from an often overlooked population to their team.
Molly Gavriel is the Partnerships Manager at The Developer Society, a not-for-profit digital agency, working with NGOs and groups with a progressive mission to help make the world we live in a better place.
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