Accessibility is not just a legal requirement – it is a commitment to inclusivity and a social responsibility that all businesses should take seriously.
Being accessible means reaching a broader audience, enhancing the user experience, and demonstrating your dedication to equal access for everyone.
Here are six practical steps you can take to get started with accessibility in your organisation.
Step 1: Audit your existing content
Start with auditing your existing content for accessibility and identify any issues, then you will be able to start tackling things. There are automated tools that can do some of the lifting here, but they catch at most half of the potential issues, so manual work is always needed. Involve an expert, if necessary.
Step 2: Fix any low-hanging fruit
Add captions to videos. There are various different ways you can do this. Automated options can be as simple as a button click and have a decent level of accuracy these days – and it is only getting better with the help of artificial intelligence. Human-made captions are also an option, if you want the highest level of accuracy.
Also, make sure you are using high colour contrast on your webpages. Colour is usually very quick and easy to change, on a technical level (although it may take longer for you to decide on the colours).
These are the kinds of changes that you can make right away, that can immediately help a large number of people.
Step 3: Build awareness of accessibility
Start spreading the word about accessibility within your organisation. Make sure that the appropriate people in your business know about relevant legislation such as the European Accessibility Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act and what their requirements are.
Step 4: Seek help
If you need additional help from an accessibility expert, do not be afraid to ask for help! We at Webcertain and TransPerfect are available to help in any way you require – you can email us at accessibility@transperfect.com. There is a wealth of information available online, but it can be tricky to navigate.
Step 5: Get key staff trained on accessibility
This should include your designers and developers, as well as your product owners, managers, and project managers. They will need to know different things specifically, but they will all need to know about accessibility in one capacity or another.
Step 6: Integrate accessibility into all your processes
Ultimately, your long-term goal should be to integrate accessibility into all your processes. Accessibility should be treated, in an ideal situation, like any other part of design, and baked into the process from the very beginning.
Need help getting started with accessibility?
Our comprehensive accessibility solutions ensure that any brand’s products and technologies are accessible to all, regardless of disabilities such as vision impairment, hearing disabilities, or other physical or cognitive conditions.
Our web accessibility solutions include:
- Audits
- Remediation and development
- Certification
- Compliance reports
We can also support with:
- Documents, including alternative formats
- Live events
- Training
- Consultation
- And more – for our full list of services, click here!
Webcertain is part of the TransPerfect family of companies. If you are interested in any of our accessibility solutions, please feel free to contact us at accessibility@transperfect.com
You can also watch a recording of a webinar that I co-presented on this topic, here.
I wish you all the best on your accessibility journey!
