Accessibility.

What is accessibility?

Accessibility is the practice of making your app or website accessible to everyone regardless of their ability or disability. It is often referred to as A11y(as in, 'a', then 11 characters, and then 'y'). It can be seen as treating everyone the same, and giving them equal opportunities, no matter what their ability or circumstances.

What type of disabilities are we looking at?

1) People with visual impairments
This includes:

• Blindness
• Low vision
• Color blindness

Many visually impaired users rely on screen readers, which convert digital text into speech, or screen magnifiers. Designers and developers should ensure that all visual elements are also accessible through text, proper HTML semantics, and ARIA labels.

2) people with hearing impairments
This includes individuals with hearing loss ranging from mild to profound
To make content accessible to them,

• Videos should be captioned
• Audio should come with transcripts
• Textual alternatives should be provided for sound-based interactions

3) people with mobility impairments
This includes:

• Paralysis or loss of limb function
• Neurological disorders affecting control
• Age-related movement limitations Such users may not use a mouse. They might navigate entirely with a keyboard, voice control, or adaptive switches. Therefore, all functionality should be operable using a keyboard alone. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to standardize accessibility. These guidelines are organized around four core principles, known by the acronym POUR.

1. Perceivable

Users must be able to perceive the content, regardless of how they interact with it.
Best practices:

• Provide text alternatives (alt) for images
• Use captions and transcripts for media
• Ensure sufficient color contrast
• Structure content with proper headings

2. Operable

Users must be able to interact with and control the interface.
Best practices:

• All functionality should be accessible via keyboard
• Allow users to pause or disable animations
• Avoid flashing content that could trigger seizures
• Provide clear navigation and focus indicators

3. Understandable

Content and operation should be easy to comprehend.
Best practices:

• Use plain, simple language
• Make navigation consistent across pages
• Label all forms clearly
• Identify input errors and offer suggestions

4. Robust

Content must be usable with a wide range of technologies, including assistive tools.

Best practices:

• Use semantic HTML elements <button> <nav> <header> etc.
• Add ARIA roles and states where necessary
• Ensure compatibility with screen readers and assistive browsers

How to Implement Accessibility in Your Projects

Accessibility is the right thing to do as building accessible sites benefits everyone. A common accessibility myth is that accessibility is an expensive "added extra" to implement on a project.These are some practical suggestions you can take to make your website or app more accessible

1. Start with Semantic HTML

Use the correct HTML elements for structure and meaning.
For example:
Use <button> for buttons, not <div>
Use <label> elements properly linked to form inputs

2. Caption and Transcribe All Media

Don’t rely on auto-generated captions. Always provide human-reviewed captions and transcripts for audio or video content.

3.Navigation

Presenting menus as structured lists gives assistive technologies the context they need to help users navigate. It also improves responsiveness on various devices and screen sizes.
Practice includes:

• Placing your menu in a consistent location across all pages
• Use HTML or ARIA to highlight the active/selected item
• Label menus clearly for easy understanding

4. Order and Grouping

Grouping related items enhances navigation and helps screen readers communicate structure and progress clearly.
Practice includes:

• Use unordered lists <ul>for menus or items where order doesn’t matter
• Use ordered lists <ol> where sequence is important (e.g. steps in a process
• Make sure only <li> elements are children of your lists

5. Color Contrast

Color contrast ensures that text and interactive elements are legible, even for users with low vision or color blindness. Text and background contrast should be at least 4.5:1 and Essential UI icons should have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1