{"id":10311,"date":"2020-06-22T18:15:53","date_gmt":"2020-06-22T18:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.naylor.com\/associationadviser\/?p=10311"},"modified":"2020-06-22T18:56:50","modified_gmt":"2020-06-22T18:56:50","slug":"how-accessibility-is-breaking-new-digital-ground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.naylor.com\/associationadviser\/how-accessibility-is-breaking-new-digital-ground\/","title":{"rendered":"How Accessibility is Breaking New Digital Ground"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s Note:<\/strong> This guest post was generously contributed by Christi Olson, head of evangelism for search and advertising at Microsoft. If you missed Christi speaking on the topic at May’s Digital Summit at Home, you’re in luck: Christi and 20+ other content and digital marketing experts will be speaking July 14-16 at the next Digital Summit at Home. This three-day, fully interactive online event delivers all of the awesome learning and networking opportunities from Digital Summit’s in-person events to your living room, office or wherever you choose to join. Register today!<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The internet is widely considered one of the greatest inventions of all time.\u00a0<\/span>Like the wheel and light bulb, the internet has become an invisible backdrop in our lives, growing increasingly important by the day.\u00a0<\/span>From Baby Boomers (68% now own a smartphone \u2013 up from 25% in 2011) to seniors (42% now own a smartphone \u2013 up from 18% in 2013), everyone is experiencing the impact.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The change has been so quick and powerful that younger generations don\u2019t even feel it. Today\u2019s young people are considered digital natives \u2013 100% of 18- to 29-year-olds in the U.S. use the internet, and 9 out of 10 millennials own a smartphone. This makes the internet a permanent fixture for future generations to come as a key source of news, entertainment, shopping and more. Of course, this affects everyone\u2019s<\/i> future, and is creating a heightened urgency around the topics of accessibility, inclusion and diversity.\u00a0<\/span>If ever there was a time to put protective standards in place, now is it.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the\u00a0World Health Organization (WHO) report<\/span><\/a>, it is estimated that 15% percent of the world\u2019s population are living with some form of disability including blindness and vision impairment, deafness and hearing loss, learning disabilities, cognitive limitations, photosensitivity, limited movement, etc.\u00a0<\/span>The internet presents unique opportunities to help empower over 1 billion disabled people.\u00a0<\/span>For instance, screen readers are helping to change lives, enabling those with no or low vision to surf the web.<\/span><\/p>\n

But accessibility is really about creating a better user experience for all. It\u2019s about inclusive, thoughtful design that emphasizes things like color contrasting, content structure for readability, more descriptive URLs and better image tagging.\u00a0<\/span>At the end <\/span>of the day, everyone benefits from lower barriers, increased access and higher ease of use.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that all businesses must comply with accessible design standards and remove barriers.\u00a0<\/span>Originally created for physical spaces, this now extends to websites as the digital and physical worlds collide, stirring up some important questions:<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the best practices for inclusive web design?<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

How can businesses ensure that their websites are compliant with the latest regulations?<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Are there any tools to help with accessibility testing?<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Getting answers requires three groups \u2013 tech builders, lawmakers and businesses.\u00a0<\/span>These key groups are making accessibility a priority as they come together to put inclusive design standards in place.\u00a0<\/span>Here\u2019s how each group is approaching digital accessibility:<\/span><\/p>\n

Tech Builders<\/span><\/h3>\n

Tech builders are building tools that promote accessibility through the lens of technology.\u00a0<\/span>They are building at a breathtaking pace \u2013 for example, Wikipedia lists over 25 screen readers available and counting. These tools convert websites into speech (or Braille), enabling users to hear content and navigate the web with their keyboard. Microsoft\u2019s Seeing AI app<\/span><\/a>\u00a0goes even further, narrating the world around us \u2013 everything from books to menus to street signs and even facial expressions are converted into speech.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There are also numerous tools available for accessibility testing such as\u00a0Accessibility Insights<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>These tools help designers spot accessibility failures \u2013 common issues include color contrast ratios, button vs text contrasts and readability structures.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lawmakers<\/span><\/h3>\n

Lawmakers are also working to promote accessibility through the lens of the law. The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) became law in 1990 providing civil rights protections to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities. In 2008 an Amendment was signed into law that changed the definition of disability and in 2010 the\u00a0ADA released standards for accessible design<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Judges are increasingly finding non-compliance as discriminatory \u2013 2018 saw\u00a02,285 ADA website lawsuits<\/span><\/a>\u00a0filed in federal courts across the United States, an increase of 181% than in the previous year. In fact, a recent,\u00a0high profile case with Domino\u2019s Pizza<\/span><\/a> made it all the way to the Supreme Court.\u00a0<\/span>The Supreme Court denied the petition hearing, leaving in place a ruling against Domino\u2019s in the lower courts, meaning other restaurants and retailers could end up in similar allegations.\u00a0<\/span>Domino\u2019s now faces a very laborious and expensive retrofitting project. it\u2019s highly recommended that businesses approach all future web development projects with an accessibility-first design.<\/span><\/p>\n

Below is a list of inclusive design best practices as a starting point.\u00a0<\/span>For more detailed guidelines, refer to the official\u00a0Website Content Accessibility Guidelines<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(WCAG).<\/span><\/p>\n