7 myths on digital accessibility
Editor’s note: At the government of Ontario, we are continuously working on ways to make programs and services more convenient, reliable and accessible, as part of our bold Ontario Onwards Action Plan that is transforming how Ontarians interact with government.
As part of our commitment to accessibility and inclusion, and to coincide with Canada’s National AccessAbility Week, we connected with our digital training team to learn about how we all can be accessibility champions.
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a micro-learning session on digital accessibility held by the Digital Training Team at the Ontario Digital Service (ODS). These training sessions help build digital skills and mindsets across all levels of government, so teams receive support on how to meet the province’s Digital Service Standard and can all deliver great digital services for people.
What do we mean when we say Digital Accessibility?
Digital accessibility refers to building digital content and applications that are functional and can be used by everyone, including users with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities.
As a new member of the ODS, I am by no means an expert on the topic of digital accessibility, but this session helped me learn more. One of the many things that I learned is that digital accessibility is not a new concept and there are many deep-rooted myths when it comes to digital accessibility.
Below are seven lessons I learned about digital accessibility.
Myth 1: Accessible websites and documents are boring and plain
Good designs are accessible designs! Technology allows for more creative options when creating accessible websites and documents. Our digital response to the pandemic included the COVID-19.ontario.ca website, which has helped millions of Ontarians by delivering clear and accessible information and services. It was named one of the world’s best COVID-19 websites for speed and accessibility by Public Digital.
So, say goodbye to plain text sites and hello to interactive, creative, complex, and media-rich texts and designs that are accessible. This also includes images with alternative text captions, videos with transcriptions, audio, forms, colour, label patterns, and interactive elements — the possibilities are endless.
For example, Trello now offers a Colorblind Friendly mode where users have the option to add textures or patterns when creating things like charts or graphs. This ensures that colourblind users can distinguish between them when analyzing data.
Myth 2: Accessibility should be addressed at the very end
This is one of the most common accessibility myths. Rather than saving it for the very end, accessibility should be treated as part of the process, built in from the beginning.
Leaving this to the end can result in a bad design, delays, and temporary fixes. It can also lead to higher costs associated with needing to “retrofit” a website, tool or feature to be made accessible.
As we continuously embrace digital accessibility across government products and services throughout their life cycles, we create better solutions with lower investment while prioritizing the user experience.
Myth 3: Digital Accessibility Only Benefits a Small Percentage of Users
Some people are under the impression that there are only a small number of people who would benefit from accessible online products and services. We’ve heard the argument that accessibility changes only benefit a small percentage of users.
That’s simply not true, as designing the experience to suit specific user groups also improves the overall design experience for everyone.
In addition, 1 in 5 Canadians age 15 and older identify themselves as having a disability. That’s over 6.2 million Canadians!
Your small switch makes a big impact!
Designing for people with permanent disabilities actually results in designs that benefit people universally. Constraints are a beautiful thing. — Microsoft Office, Inclusive Design
Myth 4: Digital Accessibility is a developer’s job
A developer may have an influence on how accessible a product is, but accessibility is everyone’s responsibility. Every person who contributes to a product or service, and is a part of the team, has a role to play.
Whether you are a policy advisor, user researcher, designer, product manager or a developer, accessibility should be understood by everyone on the team.
If accessibility is only understood and implemented by one person on the team, this can result in barriers that may surface at later parts of the product life cycle. Each person has their own unique set of responsibilities to ensure that products and services are accessible to everyone.
Myth 5: All you need to do to be accessible is use Automated Tools
As technology continues to progress and automated tools advance, you might think using these tools is enough to ensure that products and services are accessible.
Human interpretation and manual testing are still required to ensure accessibility. We design products for people, not technology, so it’s important to consider how the user experiences a product or service.
User experience research is essential to ensure that products meet accessibility needs and help identify barriers that aren’t clear at first.
For example, people don’t always use the same words to seek out the same information, automated tools can’t always connect users with the correct information. But that can be solved with good user research and usability testing.
Myth 6: You just need to think about accessibility once
Accessibility is not just a one-time thing; it’s a journey that never ends. As websites and applications continue to update with new processes, functionalities, and content based on user needs, accessibility requirements will continue to change as well. As products change, so do the accessibility requirements.
It’s important to continue checking in with users to understand if their needs are being met, and to highlight changes required as the iterative web design process unfolds. Creating a strategic maintenance plan with annual reviews and audits of your product is a great way to ensure accessibility.
Myth 7: Accessibility has more costs than benefits
Every person should be able to access online products and services from their government. It’s the law, and it’s the right thing to do. The benefits of accessibility are clear. Accessibility helps:
● build trust
● improve search engine optimization
● improve usability
● lower costs
When there is a commitment to accessibility at work, accessibility opens the door for new and creative products.
Final thoughts
We all must work together towards the goal of providing an equal and accessible experience for all users.
Legislative documents such as the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and Ontario’s Digital Service Standard are helpful guides in our ongoing commitment to create accessible products and services.
