Web Accessibility

Web accessibility ensures that websites, tools, and technologies are designed so everyone, including individuals with disabilities, can perceive, navigate, interact with, and contribute to the web.

Web accessibility is not just about inclusivity, it's also about compliance. By ensuring that everyone, including those with auditory, cognitive, neurological, physical, speech, and visual disabilities, can use a website, you're also helping your organization meet accessibility standards such as WCAG, ADA, and ARIA.

Why Web Accessibility is Important 

Web accessibility’ has a broad impact on user experience, compliance, and usability.

 "1 in 4 adults in the U.S. lives with a disability"

• Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Disability Impacts All of Us. 

"Over 70% of websites fail basic accessibility tests"

• Source: WebAIM. (2023). WebAIM Million Report: An annual accessibility analysis of the top 1 million homepages. 

"Accessible websites improve usability for 100% of users"

• Source: W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). 

"Accessible design is usable design" (SEO benefits)

• Source: Bourne, L. (2020). How Accessibility Can Boost SEO Rankings. UX Collective. 

"Approximately 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness"

• Source: World Health Organization (WHO). (2019). World report on vision.

 

WCAG Guidelines are technical standards designed to make digital content accessible and usable for everyone. WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines are used in federal and state laws. Review WebAim’s WCAG Guideline Checklist, and remember that Academic Quality Assurance is here to assist you with interpreting and reviewing for web accessibility.