WCAG 2.1 WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY

Building accessible websites and helping you move towards (A), (AA), or (AAA) level compliance

Why is website accessibility important?

As described by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) on their website https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-intro/

“It is essential that the Web be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with diverse abilities.”

And:

“The Web offers the possibility of unprecedented access to information and interaction for many people with disabilities. That is, the accessibility barriers to print, audio, and visual media can be much more easily overcome through web technologies…

There is also a strong business case for accessibility… accessible design improves overall user experience and satisfaction, especially in a variety of situations, across different devices, and for older users. Accessibility can enhance your brand, drive innovation, and extend your market reach.”

What is accessibility?

In short, accessibility is about ensuring that your website, app or other digital products and tools are developed to be inclusive of people with disability, and that they can be perceived, understood, navigated, and interacted with. There are many categories of disability, such as visual, cognitive, auditory, neurological and physical.

Ensuring your website is accessible has many additional benefits, such as general improved user experience across types of devices, easier interaction for users with injuries, slow internet connections and a host of other situations unique to individuals.

W3C developed standards and a set of criteria bywhich organisations can design and develop websites to be accessible and inclusive for everyone. The criteria were created to the “POUR” model – Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust; and classifed as (A), (AA) or (AAA) standards. This is widely accepted as the global standard for accessibility. Full information can be accessed here: https://www.w3.org/

As part of our review and audits of websites to gauge WCAG compliance, we undertake a range assessment measures. Typically, we recommend an initial assessment in order to gauge overall levels of adherence (or lack thereof) compliance to WCAG criteria. 

From there, based on outcomes from initial assessments, we’ll take a deeper dive via web-based and automated WCAG checks, manual checks against criteria, and where relevant engage user audiences to provide practical feedback and reviews. 

We provide reports and recommendations based on our audits and research as to how your organisation can then move towards your accessibility goals. 

Based on reviews in may be practical, useful and relevant to undertake remediation in order to progress the website towards accessibility. Typically, there are a range of “quick wins” to make your website immediately more accessible for your audience. In some instances – and depending how the website has been implemented – it may be possible “retrofit” accessibility to the site to the standard your organisation needs.

Remediation and implementation of recommended changes is always based on a review of the existing assets, and recommendations for updates are always aligned with both your organisation and website objectives. 

In the event your website has been implemented such that it’s not feasible to meet objectives – or that is not cost effective – it may be simpler and more effective to rebuild key aspects of the site from scratch, based on existing design and functionality.

There are often advantages to this approach (and there’s sometimes no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater).

For instance, a re-design may not be required and there may be an opportunity to re-build in a cleaner and more accessible fashion, with new features introduced, without paying a premium for a re-design and build.