Digital accessibility – what is it and how do you get started?

Accessibility is basically about everyone's equal right to access information in society. Is your website or application accessible to everyone? Here you will find 6 steps to get started with your accessibility work.

What is digital accessibility?

Digital accessibility is about making your website or digital service accessible to everyone, regardless of ability. This can mean that texts should be easy to read and understand, that content can be enlarged without falling off the screen, that users can navigate using a keyboard and voice control, or that the site can be listened to using a screen reader. For the public sector it is now required by law that digital services (websites and mobile applications) be accessible, but everyone can benefit from accessibility

10-30% or more of Swedes

It's easy to underestimate how many people suffer from various disabilities; many times they are not visible or are not captured by statistics at all. In Sweden it ranges between 10–30% or more. The variation depends on how the survey is conducted or how the group is defined. According to Statistics Sweden (SCB), which compared several different sources, around 36 percent of the population have some form and degree of disability, and even more experience it periodically in life 

For those who use digital assistive tools, accessibility adaptation is necessary, but any of us can at some point in life have difficulty absorbing digital information. Your users may experience declining vision due to age or temporarily reduced mobility due to an accident or illness. Different situations can also require certain types of accessibility, for example if you are in a noisy environment. When we design, develop and produce content we must therefore ensure that we do not exclude anyone by taking our visitors' differences into account.

Accessibility adaptation is good for everyone

Even though accessibility adaptation is not yet a legal requirement for private actors, all companies and industries can benefit. Interfaces are often both faster and easier to use. In other words, making your service accessible can make it usable for more people while also future-proofing your digital service.

With increased accessibility, more visitors can get through all flows which can help you achieve more satisfied customers, increase conversion and build a stronger brand. A bonus is also that descriptive texts and good code increase the chance that search engines find and rank your content better. A win-win for everyone, simply.

What is required to meet the accessibility requirements

There are different levels of accessibility (A–AAA) and to meet the requirements of the accessibility directive it is required that:

• the website must meet the guidelines in WCAG 2.1 level AA plus some additional requirements.
• an accessibility statement must be published on the website. In it you describe the site's accessibility and, above all, what is not accessible.
• there must be a way to report shortcomings and to request information in a format that is accessible to the user in question.
  
  

WCAG's four main principles and what they mean

As support in digital accessibility work there are a number of accessibility standards, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG. It consists of four principles with guidelines that state that a website or digital service should be:

1. Perceivable, regardless of any impairment. For example, there should be alt texts for non-text content.
   
   
2. Operable. Everyone should be able to use and interact with the interface.
   
   
3. Understandable. That is, the content should be possible to understand and absorb. For example, texts should be easy to read and understand or things should behave as expected.
   
   
4. Robust. That the service should be usable with different user agents, browsers, devices or assistive technologies.

6 tips for getting started with accessibility

With different levels of accessibility, many find it complicated to get to grips with all the requirements. Here we share some measures you can take today.

1. Find out the current situation

Finding out the current situation is a prerequisite for knowing what to change and improve. With an accessibility review, or accessibility analysis, you get answers about how well your digital service meets the accessibility requirements. The result can be a list of concrete suggested actions. If it concerns simpler editorial issues you can usually fix them yourself, while more technically advanced issues or problems in the user experience may need to be addressed by experts.

Even if you follow all the guidelines, the website can be perceived as hard to take in. This may involve the structure being unclear or text and labels being difficult to understand. Therefore make sure to find out the current state by user testing your website. A digital agency can help you carry out both usability tests and interviews to find out visitors' experiences. A UX designer can help you fix awkward flows, unclear terms or tangled structure.

Try to put yourself in the users' situation and how your digital service is perceived and used by someone with a disability. Many may have difficulty clicking small links and buttons while others may need to enlarge the text. Color-blind people may need clear contrasts while dyslexic users may need increased line spacing. Screen readers may need to skip parts of a page or have clearly worded links. For example, you can try navigating with the keyboard to get an idea of what it is like to tab through your website.

On webbriktlinjer.se/webbforalla different users explain how a website needs to work for them. There are also some free tools and browser extensions available online to experience for yourself how someone with a disability experiences a website. Web Disability simulator is an example of such an extension.

2. Keep things organized – follow standards

Content should be presentable without losing information or functionality. You must therefore ensure you create content that can be presented in different ways and on different devices. It is important to keep things organized and to follow standards. One example is tagging headings in descending order (h1, h2, h3).

With the right kind of formatting and logical structure, it becomes easier for screen readers to interpret the page and the site also becomes more scalable. This also makes it possible to tab through a page. Besides making it easier for your users to take in your website, search engines also appreciate order and organization, which can help you rank higher.

3. Review contrasts and colors

People perceive and interpret things differently – including colors. Did you know, for example, that 5 out of 100 people are colorblind? You may therefore need to review contrasts and colors. Text on images often places greater demands on image choice, since the text can become difficult to read if the contrast is too low or the image too busy. Color should not be used as the only way to distinguish visual content. Using color alone for links is therefore not a good idea and should be complemented with, for example, an arrow or an underline. To check contrasts there are several free digital tools. Contrast checker and Contrast ratio are two of them.

4. Describe images and graphic content

Image captions, or alt tags, describe images and graphics in text. It is the text that is shown instead of an image if it for some reason cannot be loaded on the screen. Users with screen readers rely on these descriptions and they can be decisive for whether your product/service can be used at all. Describing images and graphical content with alt tags also makes it easier for search engines to find and rank your page. Here we tell you more about SEO and alt tags and technical SEO.

5. Readability and validation

To allow screen readers to pronounce the content correctly, the page language should be specified in the code. Also ensure there is support for validation, for example if a field in a form is filled in incorrectly. The fields should be clearly marked and a description of what is wrong should be added to help the user understand what needs to be fixed.

Avoid using generic link names like "Read more". Users who navigate by jumping from link to link find it hard to interpret the information and understand where they are when we use generic link names. Often people want to keep link names short so they work well on both mobile and desktop, which is why many still choose these kinds of link names. It is possible to add attributes in the code to have the explanatory link name hidden while the site displays more generic link names like "Read more", but this is not always optimal. The best approach is to have clear link names that explain to the user where they will end up if they click through, it benefits everyone.

Examples of generic link names vs descriptive links:

• "Read more" vs. "Read more about our work"
• "More" vs. "How we work with sustainability", "More about us"
• "Click here" vs. "Download our app"

6. Enough time

Things take different amounts of time for different users. Users with dyslexia may, for example, need more time to read and write. Those with visual impairments may need more time to listen to the page. It is important that users are given sufficient time to complete tasks such as booking a ticket or filling in a form. Make sure the user can turn off, pause, or extend a time limit if necessary. There may be exceptions to the rule, for example where security risks mean it cannot be applied.

How Limetta works on accessibility

Planning and implementing measures and development efforts can take time, and it can be difficult to know where to start. Starting with an assessment of the current situation is a good first step. After that, you can plan, prioritize and carry out the work. At Limetta we help companies every day to make their digital products and services accessible. We take a range of perspectives into account to ensure that our solution meets accessibility requirements and follows standards. Generally, it’s about designing and building in a clear, logical and simple way. There are many benefits to building a website to be accessible from the start, but it’s never too late to make your site accessible. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need advice or help with digital accessibility.

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