Accessibility in UX: Designing for Everyone

An estimated 1.3 billion individuals, or one in six people globally, will at some point suffer from a handicap [1]. Disabilities can be either temporary or permanent, and they can take many different forms.

Advocating for accessibility and other aspects of inclusivity in design may initially seem daunting to a UX designer. However, implementing accessibility offers a significant opportunity for business growth and impact in addition to being the right thing to do.This article examines the true meaning of accessible UX design and the reasons why businesses need to give it top priority. You'll discover a11y best practices and accessibility advice specific to user experience (UX) design. Next time, we'll also explore the different types of disabilities.

In web development, accessibility (often shortened to A11y, as in "a" followed by 11 characters and then "y") refers to making websites usable by as many people as possible, even if those people have limited abilities.

"Accessibility" is abbreviated as A11Y. This is an explanation of the term:

• The initial letter "a" stands for "accessible."
• 11: Indicates how many letters there are in the word "accessibility" between the first "a" and the last "y."
• y: Stands for the final letter of "accessibility."

This expression is crucial to the construction and design of websites. Regardless of ability, it guarantees usability and accessibility for everyone. The goal of a11y best practices is to ensure that everyone, including people with cognitive and visual impairments, can use and access digital products and services.

Technology makes life easier for a lot of people. Technology makes things possible for those with disabilities. Accessibility is the process of making material as accessible as feasible for users with different physical and cognitive abilities and online access methods.

“All users, regardless of their hardware, software, language, location, or ability, can 

access the Web thanks to its fundamental design. People with a wide range of 

hearing, movement, sight, and cognitive abilities can access the Web when it 

achieves this objective.” [2] 

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are one well recognized guideline.

The first version of WCAG, known as WCAG 1.0, was published in 1999. Since its publication in 2008, WCAG 2.0 has been the widely recognized international standard. All of WCAG 2.0's capabilities are present in WCAG 2.1, a recent version that was made available in 2018, along with extra support for mobile web content. Late in 2023, WCAG 2.2 was made available.

A fundamental component of user experience design is accessibility. The WCAG guidelines are not just about following the law. By adhering to these guidelines, designers produce user interfaces (UIs) that are more flexible, intuitive, and easy to use, which benefits everyone, not just people with particular access requirements.

Tools and Methods for Testing Accessibility

To cover all the bases, effective accessibility testing blends manual assessments, automated tools, and actual user testing. Because each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages, combining them guarantees a more thorough and accurate evaluation of accessibility.

Deque Systems' research revealed that their automated tool identified 57% of accessibility problems in thousands of web pages [3].It suggests human dedication. However, automated tools like Lighthouse and Axe DevTools can quickly spot common problems like incorrect ARIA roles, low color contrast, and missing alt text. Although some manual review is still required to interpret results, these tools are excellent for designers to identify issues early.

Testers can experience the practical operation of keyboard navigation, focus order, and screen reader announcements by using manual screen reader testing tools such as NVDA and VoiceOver. This method assists in identifying problems that automated testing is unable to identify.

For the remainder, end-user testing with assistive technologies entails the use of the product in dynamic situations by individuals with disabilities. In order to uncover usability issues and user annoyances that automated and manual testing may overlook, this step is absolutely essential.

Web accessibility testing may seem overwhelming at first, but like any complicated project, it becomes simple when broken down into manageable steps.

Let's take a closer look at each step, beginning with the fundamental: comprehending accessible UX design standards.

Make use of the best automated tools for rapid insights

Automated tools allow you to quickly identify common problems when testing web accessibility. They are an excellent first step that enables you to quickly identify evident issues, even though they can't catch everything.

 For instance, comparable tools are very good at locating:

• We advise using the WebAim Contrast checker to check for poor color contrast, as it directly compares it to the contrast requirements of WCAG 2.2.
• Broken or empty buttons and links: these tools check for broken links and make sure that the right error is handled when a link fails.

However, human judgment is required for many accessibility issues. Automated tools, for example, can identify whether an image contains alternative text, but they are unable to ascertain whether the text accurately describes the image. For this reason, the most comprehensive picture is obtained by combining automated testing with manual checks.

Perform manual testing for thorough evaluation

You can truly learn how your website functions for users who use keyboards, screen readers, and other assistive technologies by conducting manual testing. It uncovers problems that machines just cannot, even though it takes longer than automated testing.

Start by testing your site's keyboard navigation.

• You should always be able to tell where you are on the page by using the Tab key to navigate through the page elements and keeping an eye out for a visible focus indicator.
• To avoid becoming stuck, pay close attention to intricate elements like dropdown menus and modal windows.

To make sure they provide a logical outline of your content, headings and page structure need to be carefully reviewed. Screen reader users can more easily navigate and comprehend the organization of your content when headings are well-structured.

Once form controls have been tested, confirm that ARIA is being used correctly. Only human testers can verify whether ARIA roles and properties truly correspond with component behaviors, even though automated tools can identify missing ARIA attributes.

Examine these crucial components for multimedia content:

• controls for media players that are accessible via a keyboard.
• the option to stop any automatically playing content.

Lastly, enlarge your page by 200% and make sure that all of the content is still readable and functional. Nothing crucial should be omitted, text should not overlap, and the layout should logically adapt to the larger size. This test gives you insight into how your website functions for users who require larger text for comfortable reading.

Test with actual users

There's nothing better than seeing actual users interact with your website. Finding out how people with disabilities actually navigate, comprehend, and interact with your content through user testing gives you insights that are impossible to obtain in any other way.

Recruit people who use various assistive technologies for accessibility user testing sessions. For instance, include those who require screen magnification, use keyboard navigation, or rely on screen readers. Every group will use your site in a different way and face different difficulties.

Carefully plan out your testing sessions. Instead of giving participants ambiguous instructions, assign them realistic tasks. For example, request that they find specific information or make a purchase. Take note of their areas of difficulty as you observe how they approach these tasks.

Schedule expert audits: Your safeguard for accessibility

Hiring outside auditors gives you a professional perspective on your website's accessibility, even though internal testing is still helpful. These professionals are well-versed in WCAG guidelines and have years of experience testing various assistive technologies.

Expert auditors are able to identify minute problems that even meticulous internal testing may overlook. They thoroughly test your website, noting any potential issues and offering precise repair suggestions. The research service offered by Gapsy Studio provides thorough reports that assist your team in understanding what needs to be fixed and why each fix is important.

There are various steps involved in audit planning:

• identifying the areas of your website that require testing.
• collecting information about the features and organization of your website.
• establishing a precise procedure for recording compliance.

Consider a qualified audit as your safety net, identifying any accessibility problems before they have an impact on your users.

In UX, accessibility refers to creating digital experiences that are usable by all users, irrespective of their skill level. We design once to benefit all by adopting universal and inclusive UX design principles, which enable us to produce products that function flawlessly in a variety of user contexts and needs. By enhancing usability, satisfaction, and reach, this strategy goes above and beyond compliance.