Today, we live in a world in which digital technology plays an increasingly large role in our lives. Administrative procedures, leisure activities, access to information, etc. It is not uncommon to be directed towards digital technology to move faster and achieve our goal. For ordinary people, the task is easy, but for some people with disabilities, the experience can be difficult, or even impossible in some cases.

This is why each site and application must pay close attention to accessibility in order to allow everyone to visit and/or use it.

Accessibility is not limited to making information available only to people with disabilities; it also aims to make it accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities or situation. By designing your application with accessibility in mind, you prioritize simplicity and perception, avoiding excluding people with disabilities or those who use their devices differently.

What accessibility topics should be addressed?

Working its OS (operating system) to the maximum around accessibility, Apple distinguishes 5 categories of accessibility:

• Speech: If you have a speech impediment or if you prefer non-verbal communication […]
• Vision: If you are blind, have impaired vision or simply prefer larger text […]
• Hearing: […] to improve the sounds you hear and help you stay in touch if you can’t hear.
• Mobility: […] to create a personalized gesture or control your devices in the way that suits you best.
• Cognition: If you need help to stay focused or to simplify tasks […]

Of course, these are just examples, but they provide a basis to work on:

• Speech: Are there any features that necessarily require speaking on your site or application? Are there alternatives?
• Vision: Do the texts and images express the right message? Is there a description for screen readers? Is the text large enough and has good enough contrast?
• Hearing: Does your site or application need sound to work? Is there an alternative?
• Mobility: Is there only one way to perform an action?
• Cognition: Can your site or app be made even simpler?

That’s all well and good, but how can you implement it?

Use the standards and guidelines

WCAG

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) were created by the W3C, the World Wide Web Consortium and dictate the rules to follow on the web, regardless of the developer, regardless of the website, with the aim of standardizing the internet and allowing everyone to access the web.

RGAA

The RGAA (General Accessibility Improvement Framework, Référentiel général d’amélioration de l’accessibilité in French) is based on WCAG and offers tests (with a large number of criteria) to ensure the compliance and accessibility of services. Initially created for French government services, it is now accessible to everyone.

The focus apps guidelines

Apple and the Human Interface Guidelines

Developing iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS and now visionOS internally, Apple has created its layout systems around a watchword: maintaining unity between all the apps on the AppStore.

Thanks to these guidelines, apps gain in user experience and tend to benefit from the same actions, thus offering more ease of use to users.

Google and Material Design

On Google’s side, there is Material Design, its open-source design system, which facilitates the creation of applications through the use of components.

Both make it possible to design an application that can be used by all users.

How to work on the accessibility of your website?

Several simple improvements can be integrated during the development of the site or after it is put online.

Alternative texts for images

Even if this also allows for better SEO, alternative texts for images allow people with vision problems to know what an image is about thanks to its description.

Editor’s note: WordPress recommends filling in the alternative text of the image for each image, but leaving it empty if it is purely decorative.

Subtitling and transcription

To be integrated mainly on videos, subtitling and transcription benefit two types of users: deaf people and those who do not want to or cannot activate the sound.

At first tedious to do (you have to base it on a video), multiple tools now make it possible to speed up the creation of these subtitles.

Editor’s note: Since Instagram integrated the ability to activate automatic subtitles, the feature has quickly become more widespread on the application, highlighting video.

Screen reader-friendly design

For websites and mobile applications to be accessible to screen readers, they must be structured in a logical and coherent manner, with clearly identified titles and subtitles (H1, h2, h3 tags, etc.), appropriately described links, and images accompanied by alternative descriptions.

Editor’s note: Example of a plan for a web page:

• H1 : Page title
  • H2 : Subtile
    • H3 : Hook
      • H4 : Subtile
        • P : text
  • H2 : Sous-titre
    • H3 : Hook
      • H4 : Subtile
        • P : text
  • …

Like the alternative text of an image, the proper hierarchy of content also allows for better SEO. So you have to kill two birds with one stone!

Keyboard navigation

By allowing people who cannot use a mouse to use your site on the keyboard, their experience will be improved. The possible actions are simple:

• Tab: allows you to move to the next clickable element
• Shift + Tab: allows you to move to the previous clickable element
• Enter: allows you to imitate the click
• Up and Down Arrows: allow you to scroll on the page
• Space: allows you to jump the height of your screen on the page
• …

Editor’s note: Have you ever noticed a visually impaired or blind person navigating on their phone? With VoiceOver, Apple allows blind people to use their devices using gestures inspired by keyboard navigation.

Colors and contrast

A dread for designers, the contrasts desired by WCAG are not necessarily integrable as is, while 100% respecting the graphic charter of brands. This is why it can be interesting to have all stakeholders work on the brand identity to highlight the points to improve.

In the contrast can also be the typographies used:

• Are they readable enough?
• Are they different enough?
• Are they big or small enough depending on the use?
• …

By respecting and thinking about these few points, your website can be used by a maximum of users.

How to make an app accessible?

Even if applications offer their own experience, it is still necessary to think about their accessibility.

Use of native features

As said before, Apple and Android work as hard as possible to offer users adapted experiences. With the proliferation of native features (camera, GPS, accelerometer, fingerprint identification or facial recognition, text recognition, etc.), applications can be innovative and allow users to overcome a lack:

• Real-time translation
• Text reading
• Securing sensitive elements
• Magnifying glass

Compatibility with assistive technologies

Newly announced, Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 offer a whole system focused on hearing health with hearing tests, the ability to use them as hearing aids and the reduction of loud sounds.

This is not the only assistive technology that exists. Indeed, there are hearing aids with Bluetooth, which allows the hearing impaired to still use smartphones and other compatible objects, as with headphones.

But the list is still long:

• Home assistants (Alexa, HomePod, etc.)
• Alternative devices: stylus, keyboard, mouse, controllers, etc.
• …

By including accessibility features, your application will be better perceived by users who need them (must-have) but well perceived by those who need them less (nice-to-have).

Accessibility test

At O’Matic, we are very interested in accessibility, because we believe in a better digital experience (but not only) for everyone.

Working on accessibility can seem complicated, since it is necessary to have an overall vision. This is why we have built a multi-level audit to take stock of a site or application based on several criteria, from the user journey and ergonomics to the RGAA and WCAG criteria.

You can book your audit by following this link !

---

Ultimately, digital accessibility is not only a liability issue, but also a business opportunity for companies looking to reach a wider audience and provide a better user experience.

With just a few steps, it’s easy to add accessibility where you think it’s unnecessary, but it’s actually necessary. (Google will love it if you think about it for your SEO).