Laura Kalbag - Accessibility for Everyone

The BBC homepage is a brilliant example of accessible web practices in the wild ( Fig 1.1 ). The layout clearly distinguishes the different areas of content. The simple interactive elements are easy to use. The copy is understandablehelped along by readable typography and a high contrast between the text and background colors. And the page is straightforward to navigate for people using a screen reader and keyboard na vigation.

Crucially, the BBC homepage is also a team effort. The accessibility of the site isnt just the responsibility of one lone developer who fixed all the problems before the page went live. Product managers, content strategists, and information architects defined the homepages content and structure based on information and goals provided by researchers and executives. Copywriters and journalists wrote the clear and easy-to-understand copy. The teams designers shaped the central contents simple interactive behavior, selected accessible colors, and chose readable typography. The developers built in screen reader accessibility and keyboard navigation support.

Every decision a team makes affects a site's accessibility. Just like content, interaction design, or web performance, accessibility is a core consideration of creating websites. Andcontrary to what many teams assumeit cant be addressed separately from the rest of the website creatio n process.

In fact, if you work on the web in any capacity, accessibility is your job.

Fig 1.1: The BBC homepage requires a very flexible design as the news content is updated so regularly and can be customized by users. The background can even be themed to fit news events.

Not convinced that accessibility considerations belong in every part of the design and development process? Many people aren'toften because of a few widely held misconceptions. If youve been avoiding accessibility in your web work, some of these excuses may sound familiar:

• Accessibility is boring. In the web industry, we tend to obsess over tools. We always want to know about the coolest new framework or the shiniest new aesthetic trend. These are avoidance tactics. While our tools can be cool, were distracting ourselves from what really matters: why our products exist and who benefits f rom them.
• Wecan't tell if anyone really benefits. Theres a common misconception that people with disabilities dont use the internet, something Ill address in greater detail in Chapter . For now, Ill just say that its a load of nonsense. At any rate, accessibility doesnt just benefit people with specific disabilities, it improves the usability of a website for everyone .
• We dont knowwhat to do! Thats precisely why this book exists. Youll discover that there are many ways to approach accessibility. A few small changes can make a big difference. Or you can build an accessible site from the start, creating a fantastic experience for a wide audience from the very beginning.
• Its too hard and therestoo much to do. Working in design and technology, we do challenging work every day. The web is always moving and changing, and so we frequently come across complications and bugs when were building sites. We dont normally give up at the first sign of an issue; we find a way around it, without compromising the experience. The same is true of accessibility; we just need to add new techniques to ou r toolkit.

Can we agree to stop making these excuses? Accessibility is a win-win situation for all involved. Its even good for business: by making our sites accessible for everyone, we also increase our potential u ser base.

But lets not get ahead of ourselves. First we need to understand what accessibility real ly means.

Ill start with some definitions. Accessibility in the physical world is the degree to which an environment is usable by as many people as possible. Web accessibility is the degree to which a website is usable by as many people as possible. We can think about both kinds of accessibility as forms of inclusion .

In our physical spaces, we understand that accessibility isnt just about wheelchairsour environments are designed to accommodate an increasingly wide range of needs. For example, interior designers are phasing out spherical door knobs in favor of pivoting door handles, because pivoting handles make it easier for people with limited movement in their arms and hands to open doors ( F ig 1.2 ).