Thursday, May 18, 2023, marks the 12th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion.
Digital accessibility is the practice of removing barriers on a website, app or digital product to make it usable for as many people as possible. This is incredibly important so that all have equal access to content and information on the internet.
Web accessibility prioritises disabled people using assistive technologies such as screen reader’s but can also help people without disabilities. For example, people using mobile phones will benefit from an accessible, easy-to-read website. More examples which are important to consider include:
- People who are blind need alternative text descriptions for meaningful images and use the keyboard and not a mouse to interact with interactive elements.
- People who are deaf or hard of hearing will need captioning for video presentations and visual indicators in place of audio cues.
- People with motor impairments may need alternative keyboards, eye control or some other adaptive hardware to help them type and navigate on their devices.
- An uncluttered screen, consistent navigation and the use of plain language would be useful for people with different learning disabilities/impairments.
If you want to make sure your web usage is as accessible as possible, GAAD have put together a number of resources including screen reader’s, accessibility evaluation tools, colour contrast analysers and learning resources: https://accessibility.day/resources/
If you have ever turned subtitles on or increased the contrast of your screen you have used an accessibility tool – ultimately, digital accessibility is essential for some, but useful for everyone. To find out more about how inclusive design and development impacts lives, visit: https://accessibility.day/