Skip to main content

Web Accessibility

Web accessibility is about making web content usable for everyone, including individuals with disabilities. Ensuring that your website is accessible helps provide an inclusive experience, complies with legal requirements, and improves overall user experience. This guide covers the principles of accessibility, common practices, and best practices for creating accessible web content.

Key Principles​

1. Perceivable​

Content must be presented in a way that users can perceive:

  • Text Alternatives: Provide text alternatives for non-text content such as images, videos, and audio. Use alt attributes for images and transcripts for multimedia.
  • Media Accessibility: Ensure that audio and video content have captions and transcripts available.
  • Color Contrast: Use sufficient color contrast between text and background to ensure readability for users with visual impairments.

2. Operable​

Users must be able to interact with the content:

  • Keyboard Navigation: Ensure that all interactive elements can be accessed and operated using a keyboard alone.
  • Focus Management: Manage focus properly so users can navigate through interactive elements in a logical order.
  • Accessible Forms: Provide labels for form elements and use proper fieldsets and legends for grouping related fields.

3. Understandable​

Content and interfaces must be understandable:

  • Clear Language: Use simple and clear language to make content easy to read and understand.
  • Consistent Navigation: Ensure that navigation is consistent across the site, and provide clear and descriptive headings.
  • Error Identification: Clearly identify errors in forms and provide guidance on how to correct them.

4. Robust​

Content must be robust enough to be interpreted by a wide variety of user agents:

  • Semantic HTML: Use semantic HTML elements to convey meaning and structure to assistive technologies.
  • Compatibility: Ensure compatibility with current and future technologies, including screen readers and other assistive devices.

Common Practices​

1. Use ARIA Roles and Attributes​

  • ARIA Roles: Use ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles to define the type of user interface elements (e.g., button, navigation, dialog).
  • ARIA Attributes: Use ARIA attributes to provide additional information about elements, such as aria-label, aria-describedby, and aria-live.

2. Implement Responsive Design​

  • Viewport Meta Tag: Use the viewport meta tag to ensure proper scaling on mobile devices.
  • Flexible Layouts: Design layouts that adapt to different screen sizes and orientations.

3. Provide Keyboard Shortcuts​

  • Navigation Shortcuts: Offer keyboard shortcuts for commonly used actions to improve navigation efficiency.
  • Custom Controls: Ensure that custom controls are keyboard accessible and provide appropriate focus styles.

4. Test with Assistive Technologies​

  • Screen Readers: Test your site with screen readers like NVDA or JAWS to ensure that content is accessible.
  • Keyboard Testing: Navigate through your site using only the keyboard to verify that all interactive elements are accessible.

Best Practices​

1. Follow WCAG Guidelines​

  • WCAG Levels: Adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 standards, which are organized into three levels of conformance: A, AA, and AAA.
  • Conformance: Aim for at least AA conformance to ensure a high level of accessibility.

2. Include Accessibility in Your Design Process​

  • Early Integration: Incorporate accessibility considerations early in the design and development process.
  • User Feedback: Seek feedback from users with disabilities to identify and address accessibility issues.

3. Provide Accessibility Training​

  • Team Education: Train your development and design teams on accessibility best practices and the importance of inclusivity.
  • Ongoing Learning: Stay updated with the latest accessibility standards and practices.

4. Use Automated and Manual Testing​

  • Automated Tools: Use automated accessibility testing tools like Lighthouse, Axe, or WAVE to identify potential issues.
  • Manual Review: Complement automated testing with manual reviews to catch issues that tools may miss.