Why Digital Accessibility Matters

Inclusion should extend to every corner of our world; the digital world is no exception.

Thursday, May 16, 2024 marks Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). GAAD is about getting people to talk, think, and learn about making the digital world accessible to the over one billion people with disabilities around the world.

What is digital accessibility?

Digital accessibility is ensuring digital products, like websites, apps, and other online tools, are accessible to everyone.

Someone with a disability or impairment should be able to experience digital content with the same successful outcomes as those without disabilities.

Why digital accessibility matters

One billion people worldwide have disabilities. Working towards digital accessibility is one way to create a more inclusive world!

First and foremost, digital accessibility is a civil right. However, it’s also beneficial to businesses to have websites and digital tools that everyone can access and enjoy.

Today we live in an incredibly digital world, yet 98% of website home pages have at least one failure, according to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines created by the World Wide Web Consortium.

Common disabilities/impairments and tools of inclusion

Visual

People who are blind or have visual impairments need alternative text that describes what’s happening in an image. They are also likely to use a keyboard to navigate a screen, rather than a mouse, making heading hierarchy and tab order extremely important for ease of navigation.

Hearing

People who are deaf or hard of hearing need captions for videos and visual cues instead of audio cues.

Motor

People with motor impairments may use different styles of keyboards, control a screen with their eye movements, or use other adaptive tools to aid in typing or navigation.

Cognitive

People with intellectual, developmental, or learning disabilities can benefit from clean, clear navigation and plain language.

Possibilities created by digital accessibility

Curated by Global Accessibility Awareness Day, check out some examples of how inclusive design creates new possibilities.

Digital accessibility and DASCH

DASCH is committed to making our site accessible to the largest audience that we can. Currently, our website is designed to meet Level A of the WCAG 2.2 guidelines, with many components achieving Level AA.

Read our accessibility statement for more info.