Introduction to Accessibility

Essential for some, Useful for All
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People perspective

Around 20% of internet users (nearly 1 billion) have some type of disability.

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Twenty percent of your traffic could come from users with some sort of disability. For some organizations, like those specializing in health care or services for the elderly, the number may even be higher. Regardless, 20 percent is a large enough number for every organization to take web accessibility for disabled users seriously. Around 80 million people in the European Union (EU) currently have a disability.

Internet Perspective

Quick facts

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97.4%

of Websites Fail to Comply With Accessibility Requirements for People With Disabilities. (as of February 2021)

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1%

only meet the most widely used accessibility standards.

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73%

of disabled users experienced barriers on more than a quarter of websites they visited.

Solution

Web Accessibility = no barriers in using digital products and services.

Accessibility (A11Y – numeronym) is focused on ensuring that there are no barriers to serving someone, through creating accommodations that solve a technical, design, physical, or cognitive barrier to engaging with a product or service.

Why bother?

Major benefits of thinking accessible

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Better world

Everybody needs to understand that accessibility is about them - future them, ill them, injured them, distracted them - and the people they care about and work with.

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More customers

Based on this survey’s findings, we estimate that 7.15 million disabled internet users in the UK have access needs; an increase of more than 1 million since 2016.

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Prevention of lawsuits

In 2020 almost 10 lawsuits were filed every business day.

Age-related impairments

The aging population is predicted to triple to 1.5 billion by 2050.

Older Internet users sometimes face challenges when they try to access the Internet because of disabilities developed with age.

“Accessibility should not be seen as a compliance-focused initiative but as a customer experience imperative.“

Main disability categories

There are many reasons why people face barriers when using the internet.

Disability types

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Permanent

Disabilities from birth, an illness, disease, or accident, or those impairments that may develop with age.

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Short-term

Result of injuries, surgery, or short-term medical conditions. Examples of temporary disabilities may include, but are not limited to: broken limbs, hand injuries, concussions, or short term impairments following surgery or medical treatments.

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Situational

For example, in a large crowd people can’t hear well, struggle when they are trying to browse in bright light where reflections can impact readability, etc. If you’re a new parent many tasks need to be completed one-handed.

“Accessibility is essential for some, useful for all.“
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How?

WCAG 2.1

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The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are part of a series of web accessibility guidelines published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the main international standards organization for the Internet. They are a set of recommendations for making Web content more accessible.

Do you want to create an accessible future?

Reach out to our team

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Vít Václavík

Web Accessibility consultant


“Technology is here to solve human problems.“

Proven Competence

United in Accessibility

Member - International Association of Accessibility Professionals