Digitalization is in full swing. The internet determines a large part of our lives: Amazon instead of shopping in a store, Google Maps instead of folding maps, Siri replaces encyclopaedias, notebooks and alarm clocks, among other things. New business models and perspectives are emerging that break with traditional market logic and are customer-centric instead of customer-oriented.
Digital transformation for everyone!
The world is characterized by rapid change and all systems need to act more flexibly and intelligently. But to ensure that everyone can really benefit from this, companies and organizations need to focus on different target groups and include people with various disabilities.
.Accessibility encompasses many different aspects of web design. How can front-end developers or screen designers, who may be facing the requirements of accessibility for the first time, still create an accessible website for the largest possible target group?
The basis for all accessible websites are the WCAG guidelines or, at state level, BITV.
The term "accessible web design" is often misleading, as design is basically just the design of the user interface. However, web design only covers a small part of what is meant by "accessible internet". In order to achieve the widest possible spectrum, all areas relevant to a website, such as editing, conception or programming, must be coordinated. There are a number of important points for the individual target groups that web designers should take into account when designing a website or app.
FONT SIZE
There are no concrete specifications regarding font size. The WCAG only specifies that it must be possible to zoom any text on a website to 200% using the browser function without losing the context of the content. Accordingly, individual modules and content elements must be designed in such a way that the text within them can be enlarged and the surrounding elements also behave appropriately.
CONTRASTS AND COLOR CONCEPTS
In order for a website to be easy to use for visually impaired people, attention must be paid to high contrasts and the color concept in general. With contrasts and colors, care must be taken not to mark the relevant content with certain colors, such as red for error messages. Attention must also be paid to high-contrast colors. There are many tools available to check this.
GRAPHICS AND MULTIMEDIA
If graphics, images or even videos appear on a website, this content must be represented by an alternative. This is not just about people who cannot hear, but also those who have poor or no sight. In this case, it is important to describe the content with text so that it can be reproduced by a screen reader. In addition, videos or animations should not be played on their own, as these are usually not easy to understand for people with impaired vision. On the other hand, flashing content or hectic jumps in videos or animations can even trigger epileptic seizures.
NAVIGATION
For people with motor impairments, particular attention must be paid to navigation. The aim of an accessible website is to make the page completely operable via touchscreen or keyboard. Buttons and buttons should, for example, have a certain distance between them and not be displayed too small.
Conclusion
To make a website accessible, 4 principles must be taken into account: Perceivability, usability, comprehensibility and robustness.
Perceptibility means that all content and components must be perceptible for all target groups.
Usability means that the user interface must be fully operable with a mouse, keyboard or screen reader.
Interpretability means that all content must be understandable for all users. For complex content, there is therefore often alternative content with plain language.
Robustness means that the content must be accessible with all devices and browsers, for example. Alternative display or output by screen readers must also be possible.
