Web Accessibility: Making the Web Accessible to All

The internet has become essential to life in our ever-evolving digital world. From individual portfolio websites to government-managed applications are accessible at the fingertips only with the help of the internet. There is almost no sector in the world that does not use the web. However, for millions of people with disabilities, accessing the web can be a daunting challenge. Web accessibility ensures that everyone, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can use the internet effectively. This blog explores what web accessibility is, why it matters, and how you can make your website accessible to all.

What is Web Accessibility?

Web accessibility is the practice of designing and developing websites that people with disabilities can use. This includes making websites navigable, understandable, and usable for individuals with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments. It’s about creating an inclusive online environment where everyone has equal access to information and services.

Why is Web Accessibility Important?

1. Inclusivity and Equality

The internet is a public space, and everyone deserves equal access to it. By making our website accessible, we are ensuring that people with disabilities can participate fully in society.

2.Legal Requirements

In many countries, web accessibility is a legal practice. For example, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPWD) in India mandate accessible digital content.

3.Improved User Experience

Accessible websites often provide a better user experience for everyone, not just those with disabilities. Features like keyboard navigation, alt text for images, semantic html, aria attributes can benefit not only the person with permanent or temporary disabilities, but all users

4.Broader Audience Reach

By making our website accessible, we open it up to a wider audience. Approximately 15% of the world’s population lives with some form of disability. Ignoring accessibility means potentially losing a significant portion of our audience. Websites with better accessibility also get better in SEO.

Key Principles of Web Accessibility:

The core principles are summarized as POUR:

1. Perceivable

Information and user interface components must be presented in ways that users can perceive, whether through sight, sound, or touch. This includes providing text alternatives for non-text content, offering video captions, and ensuring that content is adaptable to different devices.

2. Operable

Users must be able to operate the interface, regardless of their abilities. This involves ensuring that all functionality is available via keyboard (not just a mouse) and providing users enough time to read and use content.

3. Understandable

Content must be easy to understand. This means using clear and simple language, predictable navigation, and error recovery mechanisms that help users correct mistakes.

4. Robust

Content must be robust enough to be interpreted by various user agents, including assistive technologies like screen readers. This requires using clean, consistent HTML/CSS and ensuring compatibility with various browsers and devices.

Technical Implementations

1.Perceivable

a. Text Alternatives: Use the alt attribute for images to describe their content or function.

<img src="image.jpg" alt="Description of the image">

b. Semantic HTML:

Use appropriate tags like:

<header>, <main>, <nav>, <footer>

c. ARIA: Enhance elements when needed:

<button aria-label="Close Menu"></button>

d. Operable: Skip Links:

<a href="#main-content" class="skip-link">Skip to main content</a>

Accessible Forms: Use elements for form inputs and ensure that they are correctly associated using the for attribute.

<label for="email">Email:</label>
<input type="email" id="email" name="email">

Focus Indicators: Maintain visible focus indicators on interactive elements to help users keep track of their position on the page.

Understandable

Readable Content: Use simple language and clear instructions. Break content into sections with headings such as <h1>, <h2>, etc. for better readability

Form Validation: Use clear and specific error messages. Include aria-live regions to announce errors to screen readers dynamically.

Consistent Navigation: Ensure consistent navigation and layout across the site to avoid confusion.

Robust:

Clean HTML: Use proper syntax to ensure compatibility with screen readers and other assistive tools.

WAI-ARIA: Use ARIA roles and properties sparingly and correctly to enhance native HTML elements.

Responsive Design: Ensure your design is responsive, allowing users to zoom and adjust text sizes without breaking the layout.

Once we build an accessibility-rich website, we can evaluate it using various tools like Axe Accessibility Checker, Lighthouse in Chrome Dev Tools , etc. Accessibility evaluation tools are available at W3C's Test and Evaluate Tools List. We can use the VS Code extension to lint the code for accessibility during development. Testing, like screen readability testing, keyboard navigation testing, and color contrast testing, will also greatly improve the accessibility of the website.

Conclusion

Web accessibility is essential for creating an inclusive digital space. By following best practices and proper testing developers can significantly improve the usability of their websites for people with disabilities. Making the web accessible is not just about meeting legal requirements; it’s about ensuring everyone can access and benefit from your digital content.