Accessibility in Plain English !(Part 1/2)

Today, we’re diving into a critical UI/UX design aspect that often doesn’t get the attention it deserves and is sometimes ignored: accessibility issues.

This isn’t just about checking off a list of requirements — it’s about making our digital world inclusive and user-friendly for everyone. This is part one of a two part series. Here we will discuss why accessibility is important, and how it connects with usability principles. In part two, we will discuss why this gets overlooked and some techniques to overcome accessibility challenges.

Why Accessibility Matters

Accessibility in design ensures that everyone, including people with disabilities, can use and enjoy digital products. This is not just a moral imperative but a legal requirement in many countries. Yes, you can get sued for this in some countries.

The Seriousness of the Issue

To give you an idea of the scope, consider these stats:

• According to the World Health Organization, over 1 billion people — about 16% of the global population (or 1 in 6 of us) — experience some form of disability.
• A study by WebAIM found that 97.4% of the top one million home pages had detectable WCAG(Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) failures.

Nearly everyone on this planet will have a disability at some point in their life, be it something temporary like a broken arm, or something permanent, like advanced hearing loss in old age. Disabilities aren’t always obvious, either — many people have invisible disabilities, like learning disabilities (for example, dyslexia) or medical conditions that easily exhaust them (like depression or mononucleosis).

Connection Between Accessibility and Usability

Usability principles focus on making products efficient, effective, and satisfying to use. Accessibility is a key component of usability — if a product isn’t accessible, it’s inherently not usable for a significant portion of the population. By integrating accessibility into our usability efforts, we ensure our products are genuinely user-centric.

WCAG Guidelines

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is the most commonly accepted set of guidelines in the industry. WCAG provides a framework for making web content more accessible. WCAG covers a range of requirements that apply to information architecture, visual design, content, and code. Many of these requirements fall squarely in the designer’s wheelhouse. Following these guidelines can significantly improve the user experience for everyone, not just those with disabilities.

Key Gains from Following WCAG

• Increased Reach: Making your website accessible opens it to a larger audience, including those with disabilities.
• Better SEO: Accessibility practices often align with SEO(Search engine optimization) best practices, improving search engine rankings.
• Enhanced Usability: Features designed for accessibility, like clear navigation and readable text, benefit all users.

Real-World Stats and Examples

• Retail: The Click-Away Pound survey found that 69% of disabled customers will click away from an inaccessible website, leading to a loss of approximately £17.1 billion in the UK alone.
• Legal Consequences: The number of accessibility-related lawsuits in New York and California increased by 32.29% in 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. Based on the trajectory an 85% increase was expected during last year, highlighting the legal risks of neglecting accessibility.

Key Accessibility Considerations

Here are some key accessibility considerations, but we won’t go into detail here since these topics are widely covered on the internet:

1. Keyboard Accessibility: Ensuring that all functions can be accessed via a keyboard. This helps users with motor disabilities and those who prefer keyboard shortcuts.
2. Text Alternatives: Providing alt text for images. This benefits users with visual impairments and those using screen readers.
3. Contrast: Using sufficient color contrast between text and backgrounds so users with low vision and everyone in bright lighting conditions.
4. Scalable Text: Allowing text to be resized without losing content or functionality assisting users with visual impairments and older adults.
5. Consistent Navigation: Ensuring consistent and predictable navigation across the website. This actually benefits everyone, especially users with cognitive impairments.

Conclusion

Accessibility isn’t just about compliance — it’s about creating a more inclusive digital world. By understanding and addressing accessibility issues, we make our products better for everyone. Remember, a user-friendly product is an accessible product.

Check out part two of this topic : techniques to overcome accessibility challenges.

Cheers.