Digital accessibility has evolved over time and is still changing. The roots of WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) can be traced back to the passing of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act in the USA, which was the first piece of legislation to address equal access for people with disabilities. In the UK, the introduction of the 2010 Equality Act made it mandatory to provide disabled people with equal access to goods and services.

However, the issue of digital accessibility was first addressed in 1999 when the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) published the very first version of WCAG, and October 2023 saw the official release of WCAG 2.2. In the intervening years, we have seen innovations such as Voice Recognition software and Read Aloud options offered on Microsoft products, and many other providers offering options for configuring their products to make them accessible to all users.

The importance of digital accessibility – the importance of evolving

Digital accessibility is just as important as physical accessibility, but standards must be continually reviewed if they are to remain relevant. Take the wheelchair, for example, and consider how its design has evolved over the years. From the earliest example of a wheelchair in the 16th century to today’s high-tech robotic designs; there have been massive improvements in wheelchair design due both to technological advances and changes in the needs of users. The point here is that as physical accessibility needs have changed over the years, wheelchairs have also evolved to meet those needs. Similarly, as the digital landscape is changing constantly, disabled users are regularly presented with fresh challenges in accessing new products and software. So, to keep up with the evolving needs of our users, we must take their experience into consideration.

1 in 5 people in the UK are disabled

We must see digital accessibility as essential to independent living, not as an unnecessary expense. It is just as important as physical accessibility. You wouldn’t, for example, want 1 in 5 of your potential customers to be unable to enter your building due to lack of physical access. Good digital accessibility opens the world up to so many disabled people, giving them equal access to goods and services.

According to The Purple Pound, “73% of disabled customers experience barriers on more than 1 in 4 websites they visit”. No organisation should risk losing so many potential customers due to poor digital accessibility. The spending power of disabled people and their families in the UK is £274 billion a year. How can your organisation justify losing out on its share of this?

Making Adjustments vs Inclusive Design

Under UK law, organisations have a legal responsibility to ensure that their website is accessible to their consumers. Making adjustments to your website need not be costly or difficult, but it can be time-consuming. It is much easier to build inclusive design into your website from the beginning. An important thing to remember when designing your website is that all of your customers have different needs. When designing a website, it is important to consider:

• Physical impairments related to vision, hearing, or dexterity
• Mental impairments that impact understanding or speech
• Technical constraints relating to hardware or internet connectivity
• Barriers due to language or computer literacy
• Demographic differences like age, race, and gender

It is also important to bear the Accessibility Guidelines and Techniques in mind when creating your website. These are based on four core principles:

• Perceivable – Available through sight, hearing, or touch.
• Operable – Compatible with keyboard, mouse, voice control, and other devices.
• Understandable – Easy to comprehend.
• Robust – Follows standards and works across browsers, assistive technologies, mobile devices etc. 

So, in short, your website should be able to operate in many ways to allow for a good user experience for everyone, regardless of ability.

Accessibility is a process, not a one-off project

Generally speaking, websites should undergo regular, basic accessibility audits. These “check-up” audits can help demonstrate ongoing conformance with the WCAG, and highlight potential areas for improvement. It is important to do this because your users’ needs change over time, and this will help to ensure that you don’t lose out on any potential custom.

Accessibility testing can be carried out by your organisation, a website accessibility checker, or outsourced to another organisation.

It is best to go with a mixture of automated and manual checking, as these two methods will complement each other. Manual testing can be delivered by experienced testers who have lived experience of disability, whereas automated testing relies solely on a machine and simulations of a disability.

Find out more information on accessibility audits and funded options available by visiting Passion4Social and Connect Three’s Accessibility for All website.