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Build a Simple Case for Accessibility with These 5 Benefits

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While there are many reasons to make a product accessible, the most important is simply because it’s the right thing to do. But you may have a client, team, or boss who doesn’t see the value. It’s absurd that we even have to sell accessibility, but often we do. If this is your world, I got you (complete with resources, below).

Here are five key reasons why accessibility is important (beyond ethical responsibility):

  1. Inclusivity
  2. Broader audience
  3. Enhanced usability
  4. Positive brand image
  5. Legal compliance

Let’s talk a little about each of these.

Inclusivity

Accessibility and inclusivity are intersectional. While they have their own focus, they overlap as interdependent systems of discrimination and disadvantage. And we need to give everyone equal access to the products we build.

Take for example, the case of touchless soap dispensers. They’re designed to reduce cross-contamination and to remove the physical necessity of operating pumps. But these systems have been designed, built, and tested primarily by white people. People of color have posted many videos demonstrating how their skin tone doesn’t trigger the sensors. The result is exclusive accessibility. If Black people can’t use them, they’re not accessible or inclusive.

Broader audience

If our products are inaccessible to people with disabilities, we’re excluding a large segment of our audience. When they are accessible, they expand our audience. Most notably (but not limited) to people who have disabilities. We can invite everyone to the table if they can all be seated.

The Pew Research Center published a report in 2011 about this. They cited that (at the time) 81% of American adults used the internet, while only 54% of those with disabilities. If the internet was more accessible, it would be used more often by more people living with disabilities.

Enhanced usability

When people talk about accessibility, the first thing that usually comes to mind is disabilities. Many of which are considered “hidden disabilities,” such as neurodivergence and low-literacy. But everyone benefits from accessible products, not just people with disabilities. In most cases accessibility improves usability, which is beneficial for everyone.

Accessibility considerations in the realm of WCAG or ADA compliance are focused on disabilities. But consider something like the size of a click target. There are WCAG compliance recommendations for this. In the specification they note the intent as a matter of disability accommodations, noting:

Users with dexterity limitations and those who have difficulty with fine motor movement find it difficult to accurately activate small targets when there are other targets that are too close.

But if, like me, you’re fully-abled, you’ve been frustrated more than once by tiny click targets on both mobile phones and desktop browsers. Tap, tap, tap…and the cookie modal won’t close. That’s a usability issue. The accessibility of click-target size helps people with disabilities and everyone else.

Positive brand image

Reputation and legacies are important for brands. Prioritizing accessibility demonstrates social responsibility and ethical commitment. That’s good for any brand. If it didn’t matter, companies wouldn’t be spending staggering amounts of money on CSR initiatives and then telling people about it.

Legal compliance is an easy sell. No company wants to get sued. The thing is, lots of decision makers don’t realize it’s happening. There are a number of laws in many countries that require accessibility compliance. And a number of companies have already been slammed by the courts for non-compliance.

Between 2017–2022, over 14,000 cases were filed in federal court for website non-compliance. Over 3,200 of those in 2022 alone. And those numbers are rising each year. Some high-profile cases include Winn-Dixie, Domino’s Pizza, Rite Aid, and even Beyonce. No one is immune.

If we can’t sell the value of accessibility on anything else, we can always call in the ringer of litigation.

Resources

I have a sizable archive of accessibility resources. These are some of my favorites:

For me, accessibility and inclusivity are always front of mind when I’m designing and building digital products. If you’re reading this, it probably is for you as well. For so many years the battle for accessibility seemed hopeless. Over time it got easier, but it’s still a battle. Keep fighting the good fight, because we gotta look out for each other.

#Accessibility #A11y #Usability #Design #Inclusivity #Neurodivergence

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I’m Mark Wyner, an activist, dad, husband, Designer, writer, public speaker, and Mastodon moderator. If you want me to write for you or speak at your event please say hello.