Accessibility is a business imperative
Around 20% of Australians have some form of disability. Globally, over a billion people live with disabilities. When your website isn't accessible, you're excluding a sizeable chunk of your potential audience. Australian organisations also sit under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth), which has been applied to inaccessible websites in case law going back to the Sydney Olympics.
Accessibility isn't only about disability though. It's about usability. The practices that make a site accessible make it better for everyone.
What accessibility looks like in practice
Perceivable content
- Images have descriptive alt text so screen readers can convey their meaning
- Videos include captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing users
- Text has sufficient contrast against its background
- Content doesn't rely solely on colour to convey information
Operable interfaces
- All functionality is available via keyboard, not just mouse
- Users have enough time to read and interact with content
- Animations can be paused or reduced for users with motion sensitivity
- Navigation is consistent and predictable
Understandable content
- Language is clear and the reading level suits the audience
- Forms provide clear labels, instructions, and error messages
- The interface behaves predictably with no unexpected changes
Robust markup
- HTML is semantic and well-structured
- ARIA attributes are used correctly (and only when native HTML isn't sufficient)
- The site works across different browsers and assistive technologies
The WCAG framework
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) set out a standard framework with three conformance levels:
- Level A: minimum accessibility requirements
- Level AA: the standard most organisations should aim for
- Level AAA: the highest level, not always practical for all content
Most accessibility legislation, including the digital service standard used by federal and state government in Australia, references WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the target.
Common quick wins
Many accessibility improvements are straightforward:
- Add alt text to all meaningful images
- Ensure form inputs have associated labels
- Check colour contrast ratios (4.5:1 for body text)
- Add skip navigation links
- Make focus states visible
- Test keyboard-only navigation
- Use semantic HTML elements (nav, main, header, footer)
How we build accessible sites
At CodeDrips, accessibility sits inside our development process, not as an afterthought. We use semantic HTML, test with screen readers, check contrast ratios during design, and validate keyboard navigation during QA.
Building accessibly from the start costs far less than retrofitting an existing site. And it produces a better experience for every user, not just those using assistive technology.
