Accessibility is about making web content available to the widest possible audience; including, but not just those with disabilities as people often assume.

For web developers, this means being aware of the needs of all users that might visit your site and how people of varying abilities use their computers.

Benefits of Accessibility

Besides legal reasons, there are other advantages to having an accessible web site:

• Shorter web page download times
• Better search engine optimization
• Multi-device and multi-browser support
• Better overall user experience

Laws and Standards

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), developed by the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C), are the basis for most web accessibility laws used globally. Version 2.1 of these guidelines, published in June 2018, are based on four principles:

• Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.
• Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable.
• Understandable: Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable.
• Robust: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.

Improve Your Web Site

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2 Overview

WebAim WAVE Tool

Writing for the Web