25 February 2025
Designing for Accessibility: Why It’s a Must for Modern Software
by Katie Pohlman
Why Accessibility Matters More Than Ever
In a world where we spend more time online than ever before, making sure our digital spaces are accessible is more important than ever. For too long, accessibility in design has been treated as something optional or “nice to have”—but it’s so much more than that. Accessibility helps ensure that everyone, no matter their ability, can easily access and enjoy digital experiences. It’s not just about following rules—it’s about creating a more inclusive, user-friendly world for all of us. In this article, we’ll dive into why accessibility is crucial and how you can make small changes to start building more inclusive software today.
The Legal Side: Why You Need to Pay Attention
Ignoring accessibility isn’t just inconvenient for users; it can also land businesses in legal trouble. Several regulations exist to ensure digital accessibility, including:
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): While originally focused on physical spaces, the ADA now applies to digital experiences, meaning businesses must make their websites and applications accessible.
- Section 504 and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: These laws ensure that individuals with disabilities have equal access to electronic and information technology, especially for government-related services.
Accessibility-related legal cases are rising, with businesses of all sizes facing lawsuits over inaccessible websites and apps. Being proactive about accessibility not only avoids legal trouble but also ensures you’re reaching as many users as possible.
Beyond the legal risks, prioritizing accessibility means you’re sending a powerful message: you care about all your users. And that goes a long way in today’s digital landscape.
Accessibility is About People—Lots of Them
Accessibility isn’t just about helping a small group of people. The reality is that over 61 million adults in the U.S. live with a disability. That’s a massive portion of your potential audience that you might be excluding if your software isn’t designed with accessibility in mind. Beyond the statistics, disabilities come in many forms—physical, cognitive, visual, and auditory—affecting people in unique ways. It’s not just about fulfilling legal requirements or being “inclusive” for the sake of it; it’s about ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability, has an equal opportunity to access and benefit from your product. By designing with accessibility in mind, you’re not just opening the door for those with disabilities, you’re also improving the user experience for all. After all, features like keyboard navigation, voice commands, and clear visuals often make interfaces easier to navigate for everyone.
Better Accessibility = Better User Experience (For Everyone!)
Here’s the thing: designing for accessibility doesn’t just help people with disabilities. It improves the experience for everyone. Here are a few examples:
- Semantic HTML and alt tags make content easier for screen readers, but they also improve SEO and help search engines understand your site better, which increases traffic to your site.
- High-contrast text is essential for visually impaired users, but it also helps when you’re trying to read something outside on a sunny day, or when you can’t figure out where that weird glare on your screen is coming from.
- Keyboard accessibility helps people with mobility impairments, but it also makes navigating faster and more convenient for power users who prefer keyboard shortcuts.
- Clear, simple navigation helps users with cognitive impairments, but it also benefits anyone who wants to quickly find what they’re looking for without unnecessary confusion or distractions.
- Transcripts and captions help people with hearing impairments, but they also benefit people in noisy environments or those who prefer reading to listening, like when you’re watching a video on mute during a meeting.
Making accessibility a priority is a win-win situation.
Easy Ways to Start Improving Accessibility Today
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry! Small steps can make a big difference. Here are a few easy ways to start:
- Check contrast levels: Use built-in browser developer tools or online contrast checkers to ensure your text is legible for all users. You can decide if you want to be AA- or AAA-compoliant and go from there.
- Use scalable fonts: Let users adjust text size as needed instead of locking it at a fixed size, and ensure your site layout doesn’t break when they do.
- Write semantic HTML: Use proper heading structures (H1, H2, H3) and meaningful labels for buttons and links. Using semantic markup lets the browser do most of the work; elements will inherit expected behaviors for both keyboard and screen reader interactions.
- Optimize for screen readers: Add descriptive alt text for images and ensure form fields have clear labels. This allows screen readers to meaningfully describe what is on your site so that users know what they are interacting with.
- Support keyboard navigation: Make sure users can navigate your site without a mouse. This allows users with limited mobility to navigate your site, and also enables power users to be more efficient.
Let’s Make the Web a More Inclusive Place
Accessibility isn’t a checkbox—it’s a mindset shift. When we design with accessibility in mind, we create digital experiences that are more usable, enjoyable, and inclusive for everyone. And in a world where digital interactions are becoming the norm, that’s important now more than ever.
So let’s stop treating accessibility as an afterthought. Let’s make it a fundamental part of our design process. Because when we do, we don’t just build better software—we build a better, more inclusive world.
Stats
In 2022, US courts saw over 4,060 web accessibility cases, a 76% increase from 2018.
56% of people with disabilities cited accessibility as the reason for choosing one online store over another.
