Accessibility has long been incorporated in physical locations and has even come up with smart cities. But having accessible online content doesn’t have to be out of your reach. In a time when there has been an uptick in accessibility-related compliance audits and lawsuits, there are practical steps that you can take starting today.
Let’s avoid the overwhelming, endless lists and go over four critical areas you can focus on immediately:
1. Background & Standards
The purpose of website accessibility is to make the internet inclusive of the millions affected by some form of disability. In the United States, the standard is Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Most modern, robust digital standards reference the international guidelines: the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Aligning your site with modern WCAG 2.2 standards ensures your organization remains fully inclusive and structurally protected.
2. Why is Accessibility Necessary?
Did you know that 1 in 12 men around the world are color blind? The most common types are where an individual doesn’t see a difference between green and red. It is a permanent, long-term visual impairment. Contrast that with a temporary physical limit, like a visitor who has a broken arm and must navigate your site entirely using keyboard shortcuts instead of a mouse. Universal design is quite simply a best practice for reaching your entire audience.
3. Simple Areas to Improve Immediately
- Images: Every visual needs descriptive alternative text (alt text) explaining what is in the image and why it’s relevant. Avoid lazy filenames like ‘image123.jpg’; use simple, descriptive text.
- Links: Avoid non-descriptive links like ‘click here’ or ‘read more’. Links should be specific, sincere, substantial, and succinct — meaning they can exist entirely out of context and still convey exactly where they lead.
- Forms: Standard form layouts require explicit HTML labels tied directly to their respective fields so that screen readers can communicate fields clearly without crashing or causing visual errors.
Making accessibility an inherent part of your daily digital publishing workflow is the most effective way to keep your site universally open and compliant.