How can you improve the usability and accessibility of your products?

Get to know the target you want to design for (or already design for) by considering tailoring your sample to make sure it is representative of the population instead of the market segment data of your audience. Consider criteria such as disability (physical as well as neurological -think of neurodivergent users for example), culture (you may also design for a single market, but how many cultural differences can you find within a single country?) and territory (how accessible would your product be, based on territory facilities?) - then, what would your product help them for and -mostly- what would be the shortcomings/gaps? - what are current workarounds to overcome such gaps? - why are those gaps affecting the users' experience?

To start with, it's important to understand what accessibility is, and what it isn't. Making products accessible to meet compliance with regulation laws can often backfire, as the accessibility principles applied to the product are generic and don't answer specific user needs. Conducting research, learning about the different types of disabilities, and engaging with users is an effective way to learn what's missing and how the product can be improved.

User research is a fundamental step in improving usability and accessibility. Through methods like interviews, surveys, observations, and user testing, you gain valuable insights into your users' needs and challenges. This information allows you to prioritize and address usability and accessibility issues effectively, ensuring that your products are more user-friendly and inclusive. Conducting user research helps you see your product from your users' perspective, guiding your design decisions to create a better overall experience.

Accessible design is good design. When you design for people with specific needs in mind, you end up making things better for many more users. By applying your design principles consistently, you make it easier for all users to understand and use your product. This means they know what to expect, which reduces the mental effort required to figure things out. It's like giving your users a clear road map, making their experience smoother and more enjoyable.

Improving the usability and accessibility of your products starts with applying design principles. These principles provide a solid foundation for creating user-friendly experiences. Simplicity is key—reduce complexity and clutter. Clarity matters—use clear language and labels. Ensure immediate and meaningful feedback, and make interactive elements visible. Consistency in layout, color, typography, and icons is essential. Follow platform conventions. Contrast for readability and visibility is crucial between text and backgrounds and different elements. By incorporating these principles, you can enhance the usability and accessibility of your products, making them more inclusive and user-friendly for everyone.

Advocate for the hiring of accessibility specialists who know the baseline requirements and understand accessibility at the level of code. A true specialist can work with engineers to meet WCAG requirements.

You can get started in accessibility testing even if you aren't an expert. Use simple plugins and tools to test the navigability, color contrast, and content of your user experience. These will help you do a quick check of whether your design meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines standards. Try out these plugins: - Wave by WebAIM for color contrast, structure issues, and text sizes. - Taba11y for navigation problems. - Stark for applying a visual stimulator on your design.

Creating accessible products is an ongoing learning journey. It doesn't stop at meeting criteria or closing small accessibility gaps. It's a mindset that should be embedded within the culture of the company or organization and something both stakeholders and product teams should believe in as one of the top priorities to maintain a user-centered design.

Bake accessibility into all steps in the design process by intentionally asking your team to think about potential points of alienation. Like security and sustainability, the DevOps process tends to think accessibility is a feature to be tacked on at the end. Rather, advocate to include a consideration of potential points of exclusion from the beginning.