May twentieth marks the 10th Global Accessibility Awareness Day—help us shine the light on the need for digital accessibility!
Global Accessibility Awareness Day brings attention to the need for digital access and inclusion for more than one billion people with disabilities or impairments. “Someone with a disability must be able to experience web-based services, content and other digital products with the same successful outcome as those without disabilities.”
Accessibility is defined in the dictionary as “the quality of being easily reached, entered, or used by people who have a disability.” How does this apply to digital access? Through the years, digital content has become more prevalent in our lives. Banking and shopping are now commonly done online, connecting with friends and family is done via social media or messaging platforms, and newspapers and magazines have moved away from printed form and focus more on digital content. With this shift from physical to digital, it is essential that digital content be accessible for those with disabilities.
What does digital accessibility mean for those who are blind or have a visual impairment? Digital accessibility would include:
- websites navigable by keyboard
- alternative text image descriptions
- easy-to-read high-contrast font
- audio descriptions or captioning for videos
- interactive buttons, headers, and drop-down menus compatible with screen reading software
Business owners, digital content creators, web developers, and others need to ensure that their website and digital content is accessible for those with disabilities. If you are unsure if your content is accessible to all or know that it is not but do not know how to make it accessible, connect with an accessibility solutions provider.
May 18, 2021
