What is accessibility

One of the characteristics of a modern website is accessibility. This means that people with disabilities can use the site without problems.

In this article, we will discuss the definitions of accessibility and related terms, as well as what web accessibility consists of, why it is important, who it helps, what difficulties it faces, what tools are used to achieve it, and what laws regulate it.

Accessibility is the process of creating an environment, products, and services that can be utilized by people with disabilities. Sometimes accessibility is defined as the degree to which something is accessible to a person.

Instead of the long word "accessibility," the numeronym "a11y" is used. It encodes the original word "accessibility." It starts with an "a," ends with a "y," and has 11 other letters in between. It is read simply as “ally” or “a-eleven-y.”

Some interpret accessibility broadly and say that it helps all people. This is true, especially if a person is experiencing temporary difficulties or situational limitations. For example:

• broke their arm or leg, got sick, forgot their glasses at home;
• is in a noisy and hot place, driving a car;
• is using devices with poor internet connection, black and white screens, or old operating systems.

The phenomenon where all people can use things that were originally created only for people with disabilities is called the curb cut effect. Examples include ramps, curb cuts, subtitles, and auto-fill fields on websites.

However, making a product or environment accessible to everyone is not the primary goal of accessibility. It is a useful side effect that makes this approach more universal.

Let's understand what disability and related concepts are in the context of accessibility. Disability is defined differently depending on the approach to its interpretation. These approaches are also called models of disability. For example, there are medical, social, and economic models.

In the context of accessibility, the social approach is most commonly used. From this point of view, disability is a loss or limitation of the ability of people with certain medical diagnoses to participate in public life on an equal basis with others due to barriers. Thus, disability arises when people face different barriers created by society.

The word "disability" has several synonyms. These are the more neutral "special needs," "specific needs," and "peculiarities." Other synonyms may seem negative to some — "limited physical abilities," "limited health capacities," and "activity limitations."

A barrier is an obstacle that prevents a person with a disability from using the environment, products, and services. There are many types of barriers — physical, systemic, technological, informational, and so on. For example, a ground crossing without an elevator, a single method of communication without alternatives, ATMs only with touchscreens, or movies without subtitles.

Accessibility is addressed by specialists from urban planning, device and clothing design, transport, and other similar fields.

Accessibility is closely related to other concepts of creating products and services — universal and inclusive design, as well as usability.

Universal design focuses on creating the same experience for the maximum number of people. These can be people with disabilities, of different body types, heights, various skills, etc. The goal of universal design is a single solution for everyone. For example, an automatic door or a moving walkway.

Universal design has significantly influenced accessibility, so some combine the two. However, for accessibility, the experience of people with disabilities is primarily important, unlike universal design.

Inclusive design is concerned with the diversity of people. Based on this diversity, one or more solutions are created. For example, for inclusive design, race, gender, education level, age, language, cultural affiliation, or disability are important. That is, inclusive design encompasses more groups of people than accessibility. Despite this, accessibility is sometimes equated with inclusive design or considered a direction of inclusive design.

Usability is the degree of effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction of a product. Methods for improving usability are somewhat similar to those used in accessibility, but they have different goals. Usability research often does not study the needs of people with disabilities, and usability goals are not achieved within the framework of accessibility.

Web accessibility is the creation of websites, web applications, and web-related tools and technologies that can be used by people with disabilities.

An accessible web interface means that users can understand, perceive, navigate, and interact with it without problems.

In addition to web accessibility, there is also digital accessibility. It is broader and covers any digital products — mobile applications, computer games, electronic documents, operating systems, etc.

The idea of web accessibility follows from the fundamental principle of the web stated by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

The web is created for all people regardless of their devices, software, language, location, or abilities.

Web accessibility covers the entire development process. This includes code, UI and UX design, testing, auditing, text and other content, as well as the organization of the entire development process. Therefore, recommendations, requirements, and practices for web accessibility may be:

• technical — coding and testing;
• design — the appearance of websites, usability, enjoyment of interaction;
• content — writing texts, creating graphics, videos, etc.;
• auditing — conducting accessibility audits;
• organizational and legal — legislation, company policy, organization of internal processes.

Some recommendations and practices are only related to web accessibility, while others are universal and borrowed from other areas of development and design. For example, ARIA markup is a specific practice of web accessibility, whereas user personas or plain texts are universal.

Web accessibility is important for several reasons:

1. Legal — in many countries, web accessibility is regulated by laws that impose fines for violations.
2. Reputational — caring for users increases trust in the company and helps become more competitive.
3. Ethical — every person should have the opportunity to access a website.
4. Expanding user reach — the audience of the website increases due to people with disabilities, their relatives, and friends, as well as by improving search rankings.
5. Financial — the more users, the more the company earns.
6. Innovative — accessible features make products more innovative and enhance the user experience for a large number of users.

Web accessibility consists of several parts:

• User agents — browsers, plugins, email clients, etc.
• Assistive technologies — screen readers, screen magnifiers, voice assistants.
• Web content — the design, code, and content of websites and web applications.
• Development tools — code or graphic editors, content management systems (CMS), testing extensions, etc.
• People — those who create websites and those who use them.

The components depend on each other. When one component is inaccessible, it may affect the overall level of accessibility. For example, if an HTML tag is implemented incorrectly in a browser, screen readers cannot announce it correctly. To fix this, developers may have to write a custom element.

Web accessibility is based on four principles. They describe how web interfaces and their individual elements and content should be.

1. Perceivable — the interface can be perceived through different senses, such as sight, hearing, and touch.
2. Operable — the interface can be interacted with in various ways, for example, by keyboard or voice.
3. Understandable — the interface and content are easy to understand, and it is clear how to interact with interactive elements.
4. Robust — the interface meets technical specifications and works across different devices, browsers, and assistive technologies.

The principles are abbreviated as POUR based on their first letters.

The same principles are the basis of an important document on web accessibility — WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).

Users with disabilities have different needs. They depend on how people perceive the surrounding world and interact with it. Web accessibility focuses on users with the following characteristics:

• physical or motor — skeleton, muscles, and limbs;
• neurological — nervous system;
• cognitive — perception, understanding, and cognition;
• visual or sight-related — vision;
• auditory — hearing;
• speech — speech apparatus.

Needs differ not only among different groups but also within a single group. For example, people with color blindness (sight impairment) may be concerned about the color scheme of the website and contrast levels, while people who are blind may require proper HTML markup.

Users with disabilities often have more than one medical diagnosis. For instance, a person who is blind may have anxiety disorder, while a person with congenital deafness may speak indistinctly.

Like accessibility in general, the audience of web accessibility is broader than just users with disabilities. An interface that is accessible to some is accessible to all others. For individuals with low vision, it will be easier to read large text with ample line spacing. A person with a broken mouse can easily order a new one from a website that supports keyboard navigation.

Web accessibility is also influenced by how and with what users interact with interfaces due to their needs. User techniques and tools are divided into several groups based on the technologies involved:

• Browser capabilities — built-in and extended with browser extensions.
• Operating system capabilities — high-contrast themes, disabling animations, etc.
• Assistive technologies.

It is important to consider user techniques and tools when developing an accessible website. Testing with screen readers will reveal coding issues and improve the experience for those users. A well-thought-out adaptive design and testing websites at 200% zoom will assist users of screen magnifiers. Thoughtful animation styles with the @media directive and checking the value of prefers-reduced-motion can aid users who have disabled animations in their operating systems.

Barriers on the web can be divided into several types. Some affect direct access to website content when people do not use special technologies and techniques. Other barriers are indirect. In these cases, problems arise for users of assistive technologies.

Barriers can also be technical and related to code, cognitive at the content level, or exist at the design level.

Barriers are influenced by users' needs. For instance, poor keyboard support or a small click area are barriers for users with motor impairments. High contrast or animations with red flashes hinder users with neurological conditions.

For users with cognitive impairments, barriers include fields without labels and complex texts without images. Elements without text alternatives and the inability to enlarge the interface are barriers for users with visual impairments, while the absence of subtitles in videos is a barrier for individuals with hearing impairments. Finally, for people with speech impairments, a barrier is feedback given only in the form of a phone call.

The standardization of web accessibility is handled by W3C and a separate working group W3C WAI (W3C Web Accessibility Initiative). There are two categories of documents on web accessibility:

• technical specifications and standards;
• guidelines and recommendations.

There are technical specifications and standards that are related to common web technologies and languages. For example, specifications for HTML, CSS, SVG, and the ECMAScript standard.

Other specifications and standards pertain solely to web accessibility. For instance, WAI-ARIA (Web Accessibility Initiative – Accessible Rich Internet Applications). The specification describes additional markup for assistive technologies.

Guidelines and recommendations also concern only accessible practices, such as:

• WCAG — guidelines for web content accessibility.
• ATAG (Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines) — recommendations for creating accessible development tools.
• UAAG (User Agent Accessibility Guidelines) — recommendations for browser developers and similar technologies.

Tools for creating accessible websites can be universal and specific. The first group includes tools suitable for the entire team. These include WCAG, other W3C WAI recommendations for creating accessible interfaces and content, different companies' accessibility documentation, user research data, audits, and best practices.

The second group consists of tools for specific specialists — designers, content creators, developers, testers, and managers.

• HTML, CSS, SVG, JavaScript, and other languages and technologies, with particular emphasis on semantic markup.
• ARIA markup when HTML capabilities are insufficient.
• Libraries with accessible components.
• Automated tests — custom tests or libraries for testing.
• Code validators.
• Browser extensions and developer tools, bookmarklets, web services.
• Manual testing with assistive technologies and users.

• Plugins for graphic editors — checking contrast, adding labels to elements, etc.
• Services — generating color palettes, visualizing the order of focus, etc.
• Browser extensions — calculating contrast levels, simulating color blindness, etc.
• Ready-made accessible design systems and component libraries.
• UX design and research — usability testing, persona methods, interviews, etc.

Content creators include content managers, copywriters, editors, and communication designers.

• Text editors and web services with spell check, grammar check, and sentence complexity check.
• Programs and services for creating subtitles.
• Programs for checking flashes and flickers in videos and animations.
• Plugins in graphic editors — checking contrast levels, simulating color blindness, etc.

• Training employees on web accessibility — meetups, workshops, courses, consultations, etc.
• Staff competency matrix.
• Accessibility maturity models.
• Company policy on web accessibility.

Many countries have adopted laws and standards regarding the accessibility of websites and digital products, such as mobile applications and desktop software.

There are three groups of laws:

• on the civil rights of people with disabilities;
• on public procurement;
• in specific sectors and industries.

Some laws regulate only the public sector — government websites and applications. For example, the websites of ministries, agencies, state organizations and foundations, and public service portals. Another group of laws pertains to the public and private sectors — the websites of commercial companies, such as online stores, search engines, or news portals.

Civil rights laws are aimed at preventing discrimination against people with disabilities in various spheres of public life, including the digital environment.

Examples of civil rights laws for people with disabilities

• USA — ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990).
• Australia — DDA (The Disability Discrimination Act 1992).
• Ireland — Disability Act of 2005 (The Disability Act 2005).
• European Union countries — EAA (The European Accessibility Act).

Procurement laws regulate the accessibility of digital products and services involved in government procurements. If non-governmental companies receive funding from the government, then their websites and applications must comply with web accessibility requirements.

Examples of procurement laws

• USA — Secrion 508 (Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act of 1973).
• European Union countries — European standard EN 301 549.

Industry-specific laws on accessibility regulate particular areas and industries, such as broadcasting, education, or government.

Examples of industry-specific laws

• Canada — Web standards for the Government of Canada.
• USA — CVAA (The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act).
• United Kingdom — Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

In general, the requirements of web accessibility laws are based on the recommendations of WCAG. If a website complies with the guidelines, then the law is not violated. If it does not meet the requirements, its owner faces a fine and a mandate to correct accessibility issues.

Keep in mind that laws quickly become outdated and change constantly. It is better to check their relevance.

Russian laws and standards only concern the accessibility of government websites. This is regulated by two federal laws, an order, and a standard.

• Federal Law No. 419-FZ.
• Federal Law No. 8-FZ.
• Order of the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia No. 483 of November 30, 2015.
• New draft order of June 14, 2022, which has not yet come into force.
• GOST R 52872-2019.

The previous standard only addressed the accessibility of websites for people who are blind and visually impaired, and also recommended a separate version of the website. Because of this, many specialists and users criticized it. The latest standard is based on recommendations from WCAG 2.1, covers a wider audience of users with disabilities, and no longer advises developing a separate version of the website.

When working on web accessibility, you may encounter several difficulties.

The first difficulty is how to convince a company or team of the necessity of accessibility. There are several approaches. Accessibility can be promoted through empathy. For example, showing how real users face barriers or reminding that everyone ages, gets injured, and becomes ill. Another option is to promote web accessibility through benefits. An accessible website attracts more people, enhances the company's reputation, and adds value to the team's work. Finally, web accessibility can be promoted through reference to laws. Free and equal access to information is a fundamental right of every person.

The second difficulty is that improving web accessibility in some cases requires extra time and money. For example, it may be necessary to train employees, conduct audits, or perform UX research. The total investment depends directly on the size of the product and the team, as well as the complexity of the changes. The larger the website, the more time and money will be required to improve its accessibility level. Additionally, it is easier and quicker to fix code while fixing a design system will take more time.

Another difficulty is collecting user statistics. It is challenging to gather standard methods. For example, statistics on screen reader users. These assistive technologies do not interact directly with browsers but through anonymous Accessibility APIs of operating systems.

It is possible to count how many people use keyboards for navigation, but it is impossible to know how many of them have motor impairments, who uses screen readers, and who is just an advanced user.

Even if there is data on the number of users of assistive technologies or accessible features, it is still difficult to count how many of them are people with disabilities. Screen readers may be used not only by users who are blind but also by individuals with dyslexia — a selective reading, writing, or counting impairment. The audience for subtitles is broader than just those with hearing impairments. There are people who watch videos without sound on public transport or do not understand pronunciations.

An alternative to web analytics is medical statistics. It helps understand the approximate number of people with disabilities in the world and in a particular country, but it also has its challenges:

• Too general data makes it difficult to draw conclusions about users of specific products.
• Statistics are not collected everywhere.
• Different data collection methods exist in different countries.
• Unreliable data — schizophrenia may be diagnosed as bipolar disorder, and autistic spectrum disorder as schizophrenia.
• Incomplete data — people may have only one diagnosis due to disability benefits.
• Unreported data — not all people want official disabilities due to stigma.

The final difficulty is user research. It compensates for the lack of user statistics, but it is difficult and expensive to conduct. Not all companies have UX researchers or other staff with the necessary skills. Moreover, it is not always easy to find people with disabilities for such studies.

If a website is already accessible, should we continue to work on web accessibility?

Yes. Web accessibility is an ongoing process, just like other development approaches. This is especially noticeable on actively changing websites. Over time, the level of accessibility decreases, so it is important to monitor it continuously.

Can accessibility issues be resolved at the last stage of development?

It can be done, but it is better to address accessibility early on. In this case, it is quicker and cheaper to correct problems with it.

Is web accessibility only about screen readers?

No, web accessibility helps not only people who are blind but also visually impaired individuals, those with hearing impairments, anxiety disorders, epilepsy, paralysis, etc. If only accessibility for screen reader users is addressed, then such a website is inaccessible to all other users with disabilities.

Do overlays improve the accessibility of websites?

Accessibility overlays are a group of technologies that are layers placed over websites to fix web accessibility issues. In reality, they do not help increase the level of accessibility and can, in some cases, create even more barriers for users. More information about their harm can be found in the overlay factsheet.

Are the recommendations from WCAG sufficient to make a website accessible?

It is enough to comply with WCAG guidelines to meet web accessibility laws. However, it is possible to go further. In addition to WCAG, there are other best practices based on user research. Moreover, without user testing, one cannot be sure that a website is accessible. Even if it meets all the criteria of WCAG.

Other questions about web accessibility and their answers can be found in the "Myths about web accessibility" project.

The state of accessibility can be tracked through several annual reports. From them, you can learn about the most common accessibility issues on the web.

• Web Almanac — the state of the web as a whole from HTTP Archive.
• The WebAIM Million — the accessibility level of one million home pages from the American organization WebAIM.
• State of Accessibility Report (SOAR) — the situation with accessibility in various companies and industries from Diamond.

Also, many IT conferences feature presentations on accessibility. For example, the accessibility block at Google I/O. There are also separate annual conferences — Axe-con, Inclusive Design 24, WordPress Accessibility Day, Digital Accessibility Legal Summit, and others.

Web accessibility is becoming one of the basic requirements for developers, designers, and other IT specialists. More job vacancies specific to accessibility are emerging — consultants, UX researchers, testers, directors of accessibility or inclusion teams, and more.

Several factors and trends influence the growing awareness of the importance of web accessibility.

The first factor is the aging population and the acquisition of injuries and diseases by people over their lifetime. More individuals and companies understand this now.

The second factor is the strengthening of the movement for the rights of people with disabilities. Disability is increasingly normalized in popular culture, the media writes more about people with disabilities, actively responds to violations of their rights, and accessibility laws are adopted and improved.

Another trend is human-centered design. Companies are seeking ways to attract even more users, gain their trust, and enhance their reputation. One of these user categories is people with disabilities. Therefore, Microsoft actively develops inclusive design, and Apple pays considerable attention to accessible features in operating systems and accessible product design in general.

In the coming years, web accessibility laws will be changed to align with recommendations from WCAG 2.1 and then WCAG 2.2. On the other hand, European Union countries must implement the requirements of the European Accessibility Act by 2025. As a result, these countries will have uniform requirements for digital products, including websites.

W3C WAI is expected to complete work on WCAG 2.2 in the second quarter of 2023. The development of WCAG 3 is already underway. This version will be officially adopted at least four years from now. Work is also being conducted on a new version of WAI-ARIA 1.3. Updates can be followed on the page with a list of W3C WAI documents in development.

Changes in WCAG affect tools for automated web accessibility testing. Many of them check websites for compliance with WCAG criteria. Thus, the emergence of new criteria or a complete rethinking of how accessibility is assessed alters testing approaches. For example, WCAG 3 will introduce a new evaluation system and a formula for calculating contrast.