Putting accessibility in perspective
On making the web available for everyone.
The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.
— Tim Berners-Lee
Today is the 30th anniversary of the web. In the modern era, the world wide web enables and empowers humans to share information, collaborate and connect in an unprecedented way.
But does the web treat everyone equitably?
Unfortunately, it does not. According to The World Wide Web Foundation, 84% of countries do not have effective laws and practices to protect the privacy of online communications. The pace of today’s technologies and advancements also makes it increasingly challenging to ensure sites are correctly built and maintained.
Considering the diversity of users on web, one of the ways to hone in on a web “for everyone” is through improving accessibility.
What is accessibility?
Accessibility is the practice of making your websites usable by as many people as possible — we traditionally think of this as being about people with disabilities, but really it also benefits other groups such as those using mobile devices, or those with slow network connections. (source)
I used to think about accessibility as an edge case. It was an abstract concept, I knew that someone, somewhere had some difficulty using the web. Maybe it was difficulty distinguishing color or perhaps they had a non-standard way of inputing their information into a form.
I had mistakenly considered accessibility as a “nice to have”, as there wasn’t always have time to think about it, with the final impact so small that most people won’t notice the difference.
Perhaps you’ve had similar thoughts at one point or another. Or perhaps you’re surrounded by other people who think this way.
Why do I care?
On one hand, there’s the moral/ethics argument:
It’s the right thing to do.
There’s about 7.7 billion people on the planet. Only about half of the world is online.
Without accessible technology, there’s a discriminatory gap between those who can get full use from their devices/products/services, and those who can’t. As technologists, we have a moral imperative and belief that technology can empower people of every language, culture, geographical location, ability, to do more — therefore, accessibility is a requirement of such a belief.
…with every new feature, every new website, the divide between those who are online and those who are not increases, making it all the more imperative to make the web available for everyone.
— Tim Berners-Lee
Yet for many of us, we are likely working with limited resources or may not be the primary decision maker for business decisions where we are employed. So instead, let’s lay it out from a business perspective in terms of risk and profit.
The benefits of improving accessibility include:
Increasing the number of your potential customers
By making sure your products are accessible, you are opening up the opportunity to engage a much larger market than products designed without accessibility. Improving accessibility leads to more potential for the acquisition of new customers.
Approximately 19 million Americans — 6 percent of the population — still lack access to fixed broadband service at threshold speeds (source). Not only are slow bandwidths a major user pain point, but lack of support for low-bandwidth users can cause high bounce rates, lost sales and detracting from task success/user satisfaction.
Usability and accessibility go hand in hand, so if something is not accessible, it is also not usable for a portion of your potential users.
Brand differentiation
As you set your company mission and brand, focusing on accessibility is not only a promise to your customers but a way to stand out from the competition.
Reduce the likelihood of litigation
Some countries enforce and maintain accessibility standards or risk fines and legal penalties (ex. EU Web Accessibility Directive)
Federal, state, and local government websites must meet Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act that enforces United States government agencies to be accessible.
Optimizing for the future
The number of mobile phone users in the world is expected to pass the five billion mark by 2019, attributed to the increasing popularity of smartphones (source). Mobile advertising accounted for roughly 51%, or about $36.6 billion of the total digital ad revenue.
If mobile is one of the places where your highly engaged users are primarily spending their time, and dollars, why not spend more effort in optimizing their experience?
Conclusion
Accessibility reminds us of the diverse range of our world, even if our mindset if often locked on people that are in our immediate communities. There is now an enormous variety of devices with varied connection, screen size, languages, and more. Technology has far reaching opportunities to reach billions of people — by designing with accessibility in mind, we move closer to a future where everyone is empowered to benefit and improve their lives.
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Feel free to check out my design work or my handbook on UX design, upgrading your portfolio and understanding design thinking.
