Our job as designers, researchers, and product managers is to make our work accessibile. There are no downsides to accessibility and still brands are getting it wrong. Why is that?
There still some corners that are easy to cut because of misconceptions about accessibility. Let’s get into the biggest four:
- “Accessibility only helps a fraction of my users”: According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1 billion people worldwide, 15% of the total population, live with disabilities. Those aren’t small numbers, people.
- “Building in accessibility isn’t worth the time”: If you “bake in” accessibility into projects from the beginning, it reduces rework. So standardizing accessible components increases operational efficiency. Plus, accessibility spurs innovation. Touch screens, text-to-speech, audiobooks, electronic toothbrushes, and voice controls were all born out of accessibility.
- “We don’t NEED to be compliant”: Yikes! That’s not just a misconception, it’s a mistake. Accessibility lawsuits are no joke and have seen an increase over the years. Compliancy ends up saving you from that risk. We can’t stress enough that building in accessibility from the start will save you both time and money.
- “There is no ROI on accessibility”: Those 61 million people is a significant untapped market if your digital properties aren’t accessible to them. Improving accessibility issues could end up impacting your revenue overall.
So it’s time to shake off the misconceptions and keep accessibility from being an afterthought in your work. Own accessibility as an essential part of your process and a shared responsibility of the team.
For specific examples and advice on how to bring accessibility to the forefront, check out the full Customer Experience Magazine article.
