How do you advocate for web accessibility within your organization and beyond?

This makes me think of the curb cut effect. The curb cut, originally designed for persons using wheel chairs, turned out to benefit other groups of users who are not necessarily disabled: those pulling suitcases on wheels, those pushing babies in strollers, bikers, workers with large racks making deliveries, etc. This effect also plays out in our use of digital products. Have you turned on closed caption on a video you were watching because the environment was too noisy? Although closed captions are an accessibility feature designed for people who are hard of hearing, it benefits you as well. When you design for the most marginalized groups (in this case, people living with disabilities), you improve the user experience for everyone.

This is a great point and a good reason to build in accessibility from the beginning, not go back and have a project to "make the website accessible!" It will never work. In some cases, it could cause a complete rewrite of code or cause a major redesign to happen. Getting stakeholders on board in advance (using the techniques above) saves everyone time and effort.

In today's digital era, accessibility is beyond just a moral obligation, it also has strategic advantages. It shouldn't be seen merely as a legal requirement. Ensuring websites are accessible brings numerous benefits. It drives market growth through inclusivity and positively impacts search engine performance. Incorporating proper image descriptions, using HTML semantics, and providing clear descriptions for buttons, links, etc, enhance user experience and site value. This signals search engines to showcase the site to a broader audience, potentially improving search result rankings. By prioritizing accessibility, we ensure websites are inclusive, compliant with legal standards, and offer a positive user experience and satisfaction.

Advocating for web accessibility is like being a digital civil rights activist. I frame it as a matter of inclusion and social justice, challenging teams to view accessibility as an exciting design problem. This shifts the focus from mere compliance to innovating user experience. I promote UD, creating products that are accessible to everyone. I emphasize the global impact of accessibility and amplify the voices of users with disabilities. Their personal stories often drive change more effectively than statistics or regulations. We're not just improving websites – we're championing digital equality and building a more inclusive world. It's about ensuring everyone can participate fully in our increasingly digital society.

Humans cannot fly. Advocating for web accessibility is essential for inclusion, akin to the necessity of wheelchairs for mobility and airplanes for global travel. It improves quality of life by providing equal online access, adheres to legal standards like ADA, WCAG European Accessibility Act, and fosters innovation. Accessible websites benefit all users, expand market reach, and support economic growth. Prioritizing web accessibility reflects an organization's commitment to equality, enhancing user experience and compliance while driving social and economic impact. Advocacy is an ongoing commitment. Never give up.

The WCAG can be a bit of a mammoth to take on all at once, but there are other organisations that offer cut down checklists that cover at least the major points. While far from being comprehensive, these checklists can be a good starting point for who is new to accessibility. Even if the WCAG is feels daunting, don't give up on it, start simple and improve with time.

I agree that WCAG all at once is too much for most teams and individuals. As Silvia mentioned, there are a lot of accessibility checklists that can help break it down. Some things, such as how to make an inaccessible carousel accessible, or having captions or sign language translations available for something like a live conference can get expensive or technically complicated. But at least attempting to make "here" and "click here" links somewhat meaningful and screen reader friendly is not that difficult. Not to mention, it's something that does result in good universal design, as your sighted readers want to scan, not read.

You can be easily overwhelmed when looking at the WCAG as the guidelines are exhaustive. For me, it's important to keep A, AA and AAA in mind. You can't reach AA without first meeting the requirement of A. You can't reach AAA, without first meeting the requirement of AA. Additionally, AA is the legal requirement, AAA is a nice to have. The reality is AAA is near impossible as there are so many different factors to take into account. Break it down into smaller tasks, meet A requirements first (which is not difficult), then aim for AA. Anything else you can do within AAA is a bonus.

Die WCAG k?nnen aufgrund ihres Umfangs und ihrer Komplexit?t insbesondere am Anfang überw?ltigend sein. Daher k?nnen Werkzeuge wie der BIK BITV-Test helfen, der ein etabliertes Verfahren zur Bewertung der Barrierefreiheit von Webseiten in Deutschland darstellt. Er hilft dabei, die WCAG besser zu verstehen, indem er konkrete Prüfschritte und Bewertungskriterien bietet, die auf den WCAG basieren. Durch die Anwendung des BIK BITV-Tests k?nnen Entwickler und Designer systematisch ihre Webseiten analysieren und identifizieren, welche Bereiche den WCAG entsprechen und wo Verbesserungsbedarf besteht. Dies erleichtert die Umsetzung barrierefreier Webangebote, indem spezifische Anforderungen in praxisnahe, überprüfbare Ma?nahmen übersetzt werden.

WCAG covers a comprehensive set of recommendations to make websites accessible. I found the WCAG guidelines overwhelming initially due to the complex concepts and terminology. However, I realized that focusing on what I could handle and taking it step-by-step made it more manageable. Using accessibility checklists, as @Silvia Lillie said, also helps break down the WCAG criteria, making it easier to understand and implement, especially for newbie evaluators.

Accessibility is a life-long learning journey. Promote internal conversations by encouraging accessibility dialogue within departments to raise awareness and foster a culture that embraces it, driving meaningful change. Explore The A11Y Project: Utilize The A11Y Project for valuable insights and practical guidance to enhance accessibility knowledge and implementation. Learn more: https://www.a11yproject.com/ Engage in Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD): Participate in GAAD and join the global movement to learn, discuss, and promote digital access and inclusion. Save the date for the next GAAD event in 2024 and plan ahead to actively contribute to this vital awareness campaign. Learn more: https://accessibility.day/

Making accessible websites requires a collective effort. It requires continuous learning, understanding the need for accessibility, and motivation from IT personnel. One practical step to ensure many websites are accessible is to advocate for accessibility, educating stakeholders, project managers, developers, and designers about its importance and benefits. This can be achieved through workshops, seminars, and panel discussions where best practices and successful use cases are shared. Project managers, tasked with aligning projects to business goals, should also motivate and encourage the web team to address accessibility issues from the start.

Promote web accessibility by raising awareness, sharing best practices, and discussing policy impact. Connect experts and enthusiasts, fostering a community dedicated to improving access for all. Highlight technological advances and advocate for inclusive design and development, empowering participants with knowledge and tools to enhance web usability for everyone. I have done a Twitter chat on these topics, every week since 2014. The power of social learning is essential to the progress of web accessibility.

Real practical example: the battery of my wireless mouse runs out in the middle of a proctored online exam. It's not just "edge use cases" that require accessibility features such as tab navigation: chances are sooner or later we will all come across the usefulness of accessible design. Remember that users are real people.

Demonstrating the inaccessibility of your digital products is one of the easiest ways to build leadership buy-in! However, I would stress this cannot or should not be done through just tools (or certainly plug-ins) as they create a false example of the lived experience that a user with a disability faces. Our team here at Allyant helps organizations with this consistently through Accessibility Lunch & Learns that highlight the "what is" and "why" accessibility is important. However, most critically, these sessions include a native screen reader demo from a Senior Blind Accessibility Engineer on our team. Most teams are shocked when they hear an Assistive Technology User struggle through their custom-facing digital properties!

Regular discussions on accessibility teach the importance of being proactive and persistent. Initiating and maintaining conversations, building supportive communities, and continuous advocacy for improved policies are crucial. These engagements encourage persistent learning and adaptation, fostering innovation in accessibility solutions. Consistent efforts and community involvement are key to driving long-term changes in accessibility.

Being an advocate is about playing the 'long game' meaning that you need to keep pushing even when you feel you aren't getting anywhere. Look for other people who are supportive, find opportunities to make a difference and connect with others in the field who can offer advice and support.

Build accessibility into design systems. Integrate knowledge, resources and guidelines with structure, typography, color, motion, illustrations, icons, and other components and documentation. In this way, anyone who uses the design system is informed from the beginning and understands accessibility is integral to experience and usability; not an afterthought.

One thing that i always advocate for is taking small steps to help engrain accessibility as a culture in organizations. One thing you can do have development teams use automation (Axe, Pa11y) daily in pipeline jobs and in daily development (Linting). Make it so it seems like its just apart of the flow. Taking small steps like this can help your organizations development teams see how simple accessibility can be! From there, you can grow into more manual tests with keyboard, and even train up for screen readers or even make accessibility champions!

Everyone can play a role in advocating for accessibility - it shouldn't just be people with disabilities. Think of ways to share information and support one another, such as a community of practice.

Don't forget, when you are advocating for accessibility, sometimes it can feel like the entire world is against you and you are making zero progress. Hang in there and look for the small wins. Sometimes we forget to see the small progress we make and don't celebrate those wins. Small wins lead to large gains over time. Keep pushing and keep rolling but know you are making an impact!

As a designer, one thing you can do is don't ask, just make the design accessible. Collaborate with engineers on how to implement various guidelines. Most of the guidelines are not hard to implement from a design and code aspect. It's actually pretty easy. Make sure to annotate your designs to be clear about accessibility items engineers need to know about. They are rarely prototyped. The most expensive and difficult is text to speech. But it's not crazy expensive and make sure to add it as a line item in a project budget. The more you do, the more you help everyone.

Having real people who are disabled test your product, app, workflow, website, etc., is imperative. Native assistive technology users know how to use the tools, which literally give them access to information, better than someone who is not a native user.

Accessibility buy-in and obtaining resources on this topic, sadly, is still one of the most difficult things for internal team members to champion to leadership. One of my best points of advice, even though most teams are surprised to hear this, is to get buy-in from legal and general counsel. Ultimately, they can be some of your biggest unsung hero's when advocating for accessibility budget and other leaders listen and action on their guidance! Tying this back to new regulations (HHS, DOJ, EAA, HB21-1110, etc.) and the potential significant legal risks for non-compliance that would directly tie back to their work can really help move the needle for organizational buy-in on this topic.

Advocate for web accessibility by educating stakeholders on its legal and business implications. Showcase successful implementations, emphasizing measurable benefits. Integrate accessibility into development processes and collaborate with experts. Engage user advocacy groups for real-world insights. Advocate for clear accessibility policies and establish expectations. Promote a culture of continuous improvement, emphasizing ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Effectively advocating for web accessibility fosters inclusivity within and beyond the organization.