Accessibility by everyone (and for everyone) - Amy Kapernick - NDC Oslo 2024

Over 96% of the top 1 million websites fail accessibility guidelines, with 49.9M accessibility issues found in 2023

The global population with permanent impairments is 1.2 billion people (15%), controlling $13 trillion in disposable income

Inclusive workplaces are:

• 10x more likely to be highly effective
• 9x more likely to innovate
• 4x more likely to provide excellent customer experience
• 4x better at retaining employees

Key technical accessibility requirements:

• Maintain WCAG color contrast ratios (minimum 4.5:1 for AA standard)
• Use semantic HTML elements over generic divs
• Provide text alternatives for images and media
• Ensure keyboard navigation functionality
• Include clear error messages and form labels
• Base font size of at least 16px

Three categories of impairments:

• Permanent (long-term conditions)
• Temporary (short-term injuries/conditions)
• Situational (environment-dependent limitations)

Testing should include both:

• Automated testing (color contrast, HTML validation)
• Manual testing (keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility)

Accessibility should be:

• Built in from the start, not added later
• Part of the definition of done
• Included in hiring and team training
• Regularly tested with real users who have impairments

Avoid accessibility overlays/widgets as they often make accessibility worse

Companies that make websites accessible could increase annual revenue by millions (example: 2.3M euros for site with 1M daily visits)

Accessibility benefits everyone through features like captions, clear language, and thoughtful interface design