When creating websites, it’s important to consider accessibility from the beginning of the development process – this since it affects various aspects of the design/development process such as code structure, color choices, and the incorporation of dynamic elements. These things will be more difficult to adjust in a later stage of the process.
The Importance of Web Accessibility
Implementing web accessibility have numerous benefits:
- Inclusive design: By making your website accessible, you don’t risk excluding potential customers.
- Improved SEO: Accessibility can positively impact your search engine ranking.
- Compliance: Depending on your business type, web accessibility may be a legal requirement.
Testing and Evaluation
To ensure your website or mobile app is accessible, you can test how it behaves with assistive technologies, such as screen readers, screen magnification, and alternative input methods. You can use browser extensions like Google Lighthouse to identify areas for improvement. Use multiple automated testing tools, since each has their strengths and weaknesses. Here is a good list of various automated accessibility testers: https://www.w3.org/WAI/test-evaluate/tools/list/.
My Personal Favorite Testing Tools
When I design and develop, I personally like the Mozilla Firefox Accessibility Inspector (available in the Mozilla Developer browser), which for example allows you to:
- Check color accessibility and tabbing order
- Simulate different types of color blindness
The tabbing order is dependent on how you have been using the heading element on your site, so make sure the order is logical for someone using a screen reader.
Additionally, I generate a report with the Google Lighthouse extension, which includes information on page load speed, missing alt text for images, and other helpful tips.
The Role of AI in Web Accessibility
While AI technologies hold promise for improving web accessibility, it ultimately depends on developers and designers prioritizing accessibility when creating prompts for AI-assisted design. Currently, the automatic web accessibility testers for browsers such as the two mentioned in this article have limitations and can’t be fully trusted. An example is that automated web accessibility testers such as Google Lighthouse can detect the presence of an alt text for images but not whether this alt -text is a proper description of the image. AI-assisted technologies may bridge this gap in the near future.
Design Trends to Avoid
One common design trend to avoid is to have dynamic content that cannot be controlled by the user. This violates accessibility standards, as users should be able to pause, stop, or hide moving, blinking, or scrolling content.
Chasing Perfection in Accessibility
While achieving 100% accessibility may not ever be achievable, striving for it is still crucial. By acknowledging the importance of accessibility and making a focused effort to improve, we can create a more inclusive online experience for everyone.