What is “Digital Accessibility?” #
Though the dictionary definition of “accessibility” cover all manner of things, when we talk about it in the context of digital design, we are talking about creating content that can be accessed and navigated by as many people as possible, regardless of ability or disability.
Why does accessibility matter? #
In the physical world, this could be anything from adding ramps instead of or alongside stairs to including braille on signage. For digital content, accessibility might mean adding closed captions to videos or ensuring text is high-contrast against the background of a website.
The importance of accessibility can be broadly divided into three categories: Moral, legal, and business reasons
Moral #
Many creators want to design accessibly simply because they feel it is the right thing to do. They feel people shouldn’t be left out of the conversation due to factors out of their control. For these creators, accessible design is not just a good idea, it’s a moral responsibility.
Legal #
In the US, the federal government, individual states, and even specific localities can create laws about digital accessibility. The Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act is the overarching federal regulation, which requires most businesses and all state and local government agencies to meet certain accessibility requirements. This includes UMW!
Business #
Designing accessibly opens your content up to a wider audience, potentially increasing revenue of your business ventures. More people can join your stream, get served your ad, or visit your online store if you design with accessibility in mind.
Who benefits from accessible design? #
Regardless of form, designing accessibly can help a wide range of people, regardless of ability or disability. Families with baby strollers use ramps designed for wheelchairs, and viewers watching videos in a quiet environment can turn on captions to avoid causing a distraction for others.
How can you design accessibly? #
There is a lot of nuance in the details, but the big-pictures goal is to first make information available , and then ensure that the information is navigable and practical.
Available #
If you were to give a paper printout of an essay to a person who is blind or low-vision, they would technically have the information in their hands, but the information would not really be available for them to access (without additional work on their part).
Similarly, if you share a video without captions, or a podcast without a written transcript, that information is not available to a large population of your potential audience. A lot of the work of accessible design is making information available to more people, using things like:
- Captions for videos
- Transcripts for audio projects
- Alternative text (alt text, or written descriptions) for images
Usable #
Even if information is available, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is usable.
If you were to share an essay in a digital format, it can usually be read by screen reader software (programs that read digital text aloud). This could make the information available to a blind or low-vision person. But if this digital format doesn’t have the formatting, footnotes, and table of contents of the original paper, the information is not easily usable. If they are interested in specific area or subject of your essay, their only choice is to read through the entire essay to find the part of interest.
We can design content to be more accessible using things like:
- Heading tags in written content
- Speaker names in captions and transcripts
- Descriptive hypertext for links in web pages and digital documents
When is something fully “accessible?” #
Never! There is no such thing as perfection in accessibility. Accessibility can mean something different for every person interacting with your content, so getting to 100% accessibility is an impossible goal.
Like many things, accessibility is a spectrum, not a yes/no equation. The goal of accessible design is to move our content further towards the upper end of the spectrum, making it available and usable by as many people as possible, with the recognition that there may always be people that require additional or specific accommodations.
Where can I find out more? #
Accessibility considerations can vary widely by platform and content type. The Digital Knowledge Center has several guides to help you with the specifics in various areas:
In addition, many programs have built in accessibility checkers, or other tools that can help with accessible design. Here are just a few:
- Accessibility in Microsoft Word
- Accessibility in Microsoft PowerPoint
- Accessibility in Microsoft Clipchamp
- Accessibility in Canva
If the software you are interested in isn’t listed here, a quick web search for “accessibility [insert software name]” will usually give a few good results. Look for guides created by the software developer themselves (e.g. Microsoft for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel). These tend to be most thorough and up-to-date.
Want More Help? #
Book an appointment with a consultant at the DKC. We would love to help you make your projects more accessible!