Accessibility Quick Start Guide

As a developer, it’s crucial to ensure that the software you create is accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities. It’s not just a matter of compliance with legal requirements, but it’s the right thing to do to make products more inclusive for all users.

Getting started with accessibility can be a daunting task, especially if you’re new to the field. But with the right training, tools, and mindset, accessibility can become an integral part of the team’s development process.

In this quick start guide, we’ll cover the basics of accessibility and resources for developers to get started including information on training, tools, accessibility as an ongoing process and the importance of automation.

1. Why Accessibility is Important

When a product is inaccessible, it excludes people with disabilities from using it. This can range from individuals with visual impairments who rely on screen readers to access information to individuals with motor disabilities who have difficulty using a mouse.

According to many sources including the World Health Organization (WHO) “~15–20% (or ~1 billion) people of the world’s population, have some form of disability. Of those, a significant portion may have difficulty accessing digital content and technology due to issues such as visual or auditory impairments, motor difficulties, or cognitive disabilities.”[1–3]

Making products accessible ensures that everyone can use them, which is important for both ethical and business reasons.

A 2020 study “Million” by the WebAIM organisation found that 98.1% of the top 1 million home pages had at least one accessibility issue. Another study by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals found that about 75% of websites have accessibility issues.[4]

In addition, accessibility is required by law in many countries. Non-compliance can result in legal action, as well as negative publicity and reputational damage.

2. Getting Started with Accessibility

The first step in getting started with accessibility is to educate team members on why it’s important and what accessibility means. This can be done through training sessions or workshops, which can be conducted by experts or through online courses. Training should cover the basics of accessibility, including best practices for web design and development, and the use of assistive technologies.

Development teams should also familiarise themselves with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a set of international standards for making web content accessible. WCAG covers a range of accessibility topics, including text alternatives for non-text content, color contrast, and keyboard accessibility.

3. Training

Accessibility training should be tailored to the level of the team’s existing knowledge. Teams with little to no prior experience with accessibility may need more in-depth training, while those with some experience may benefit from more targeted training sessions.

Here are some options to consider:

1. Online training courses: Many websites and organizations offer online courses on accessibility. These courses cover topics such as how to design accessible user interfaces, how to create accessible documents, and how to test for accessibility.

Free online courses that you can access include:

• Accessibility Fundamentals on Coursera: Introduction to Accessible Web Development and An Introduction to Accessibility and Inclusive Design.
• Accessibility Fundamentals on Udacity: Web Accessibility by Google.
• Web Accessibility Fundamentals on Google’s Web Fundamentals: Learn Accessibility.
• Web Accessibility on edX: Introduction to Web Accessibility.
• And there are plenty more.

2. In-person training: Learning accessibility skills in person can be a rewarding experience. You could hire a consultant to train your team, or you could attend accessibility conferences and events.

3. Self-directed learning: There are numerous free online resources, such as webinars, blogs, and tutorials, that can assist you and your team in learning about accessibility at your own pace.

4. Tools

In addition to training, there are a number of tools available to help development teams make their products accessible. Automated testing tools can help identify accessibility issues and provide suggestions for how to fix them. Manual testing can also be done by individuals with disabilities, who can provide valuable feedback on the user experience.

Here are some tools that can help:

1. Accessibility checkers: These tools scan your website or application to identify accessibility issues and provide suggestions for improvement. Some popular accessibility checkers include WAVE, Deque etc.
2. Screen readers: A screen reader is a tool that reads the content of a website or application aloud to a user. Some popular screen readers include Orca (Linux), NVDA (Windows), VoiceOver (Mac OS) and Browser Extensions e.g. ChromeVox.
3. Keyboard testing tools: These tools simulate keyboard-only navigation to ensure that all features of the application are accessible to users who can’t use a mouse. Some popular keyboard testing tools include Deque Keyboard Guided Tests and KeyboardTester. Using tabs on your keyboard is always an option.

5. Integrating Accessibility into Development Process

Accessibility should be integrated into the development process from the beginning. This includes incorporating accessibility requirements into project plans, ensuring that accessibility is considered in design and development decisions, and conducting regular accessibility testing throughout the development process.

A good and recommended way to ensure accessibility is consistently incorporated into the development process is by automating accessibility testing in continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. This ensures that accessibility issues are identified early and can be fixed before they become more difficult and expensive to address.

6. Making Accessibility a Continuous Process

It is critical to remember that accessibility is a continuous process rather than a one-time task. As new features are added and products evolve, it is critical to assess and address accessibility issues on a regular basis. This can be accomplished through regular accessibility testing and training that is kept up to date with the latest best practices and guidelines.

Summing Up

Implementing accessibility is a critical task for development teams, and it’s critical to get off to a good start. Your team can create software that is accessible to everyone by learning the fundamental concepts, seeking training, and using the appropriate tools. Remember that accessibility is a continuous process, and you should test and evaluate your software on a regular basis to ensure that it remains accessible. The more you integrate accessibility into your development process, the easier it will become to make accessible software a standard part of your workflow.

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References:

1. World Health Organization. (2021). Disability.
2. United Nations. (2021). Disability and the Sustainable Development Goals. International Labour Organization. (2019). Global Estimates on Disability and Work. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/disability-and-work/WCMS_684546/lang--en/index.htm
3. WebAIM. (2020). The WebAIM Million — 2020. Retrieved from https://webaim.org/projects/million/