In the digital world we live in, accessible products, services, and information can no longer be seen as an optional extra; they are a necessity.

For people with diverse access needs, it is a matter of equal rights, independent living and dignity.

For businesses, it means legal compliance, a potential talent pool of millions and a healthier bottom line.

For wider society, it represents the smoother user experiences and better service delivery that inevitably result from an inclusion-first mindset.

At Passion4Social, we understand how accessibility benefits everyone, so we are on a mission to support organisations on their journey from awareness to action.

Digital exclusion: Who really gets left behind?

Imagine visiting a website and not being able to read its content or complete a purchase because of how it was designed?

For the over 16 million people in the UK (over a billion people globally) who live with a disability or long-term health condition, powers of imagination are not needed.

This is their daily reality.

That’s over 15% of the world’s population who are potentially left unable to access important goods and services.

Global life expectancy is also rising, and so is the number of older adults who are trying to navigate our increasingly digital world.

The Office for National Statistics has estimated that 1 in 5 UK residents will be 65 or over by 2030; yet, many websites, apps, and social media platforms remain stubbornly inaccessible to them.

Factor in the people encountering situational disabilities, a broken wrist or insufficient funds to afford the latest technologies, for example, and you begin to truly understand the far-reaching impact of poor digital accessibility.

The numbers don’t lie:

• 73% of disabled customers experience access barriers on more than 1 in 4 websites they visit
• 71% of web users leave a site they find hard to use
• 40% of older people feel excluded from digital services
• Older people habitually abandon access to websites or apps in under 3 minutes

Accessibility creates equity

When digital spaces are inclusive, our society becomes more equitable. They empower people with disabilities to access quality education, pursue employment and promotion opportunities and participate in cultural life.

They are a source of support for families, carers, and individuals navigating complex administrative or legal systems.

Neither can we underestimate the role they play in reducing isolation and loneliness.

We saw how platforms like Google Meet and Zoom enabled people to stay connected during the global pandemic, for example, ensuring they had a lifeline when policymakers failed to recognise their needs.

Inclusive digital spaces also strengthen community resilience, as people who would otherwise be unable to advocate for the issues closest to their hearts have a voice and a platform to use it.

Accessibility also fosters innovation. Take features like captions on videos, voice recognition software, and responsive design; they were originally designed to meet people’s access needs, but they have become mainstream, improving the user experience for everyone.
The message is clear: what benefits people with additional access needs, ultimately benefits us all.

The business case: Financial, legal and moral

From a commercial perspective, ignoring accessibility is a costly mistake.

The spending power of people with disabilities and their families (the Purple Pound) is worth £274 billion annually in the UK alone.

Globally, that amounts to more than 8 Trillion Dollars a year.

Furthermore, according to recent research from Age UK, older adults control 70% of Britain’s disposable income: a market no organisation can afford to exclude.

Now factor in the costs when you are forced to fix, or even completely redevelop, your digital products to resolve accessibility issues.

At Passion4Social, we have been empowering businesses to become more inclusive for 7 years.

Take it from us: building accessibility into the design concept from the very start is significantly more cost-effective than making retrospective changes.

A word about the law

In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 states it is illegal to discriminate against anyone with a protected characteristic, including people with disabilities.

It requires all service providers, including website hosts, to make reasonable adjustments to avoid disadvantaging these groups.

Public bodies are also bound by the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018, which align with the WCAG standards (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).

Add in the European accessibility act, which is legally binding for any organisation that trades with the EU, and you can see how non-compliance is a risk your business simply cannot afford to take.

We would encourage you to think about legal compliance as something that benefits everyone and to be proactive about achieving it.

On a brighter note, people with access needs will support brands that clearly signal intent when it comes to accessibility.

Research shows:

• 71% of consumers actively help a brand promote its products or services if there is a good cause behind them
• 87% of global consumers believe that businesses need to place equal weight on society’s interests and business interests
• 75% of disabled people and their families have walked away from a business because of poor accessibility or customer service

Inclusive companies also attract a much wider, more diverse talent pool, benefitting from unique skill sets, perspectives, lived experiences, and problem-solving techniques.

When people see themselves and their needs reflected in a business’s priorities, they will be more likely to view it as a prospective employer.

From compliance to culture

At Passion4Social, we live the values of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

That means treating digital accessibility as a culture, and an ongoing process, not a one-off project.

Through our Accessibility for All initiative, we provide the accessibility audits, consultancy services and training that start organisations on their path to becoming true accessibility champions.

What makes us different from our competitors is our team of testers, all of whom have lived or learnt experience of the barriers people with additional access needs habitually encounter.

They have worked with NHS trusts, universities, non-profits and public sector businesses to identify and resolve accessibility issues across their digital products.
You see, these clients don’t just leave us with a report; they walk away with clarity, strategy, and purpose.

Want to know more about the ways we can support your journey from awareness to action?

Email: enquiries@passion4social.com

Follow us on LinkedIn