Software for people of all abilities

Everyone should be able to use your software and designing for different abilities should be the focus throughout the entire software industry.

It’s a common misconception that web accessibility only benefits people with a disability or those with sensory, cognitive, or motor impairments. In reality, making your website accessible means it’s easier for everyone to use.

Accessibility

Essentially, accessibility in software means creating solutions accessible to people of all abilities. This means meeting a variety of needs. This might seem overwhelming so let’s break it down.

There are five different human capacities of the human body considered for accessibility: vision, hearing, cognitive, speech, and mobility.

There are specific changes you can make to your design to make it easier for audiences with different abilities, including contrast, sizing, heading structure, and the use of text alternatives.

For further information on designing for all abilities read Easy Checks – A First Review of Web Accessibility by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) for an easy-to-follow checklist to approach accessibility for your design.

We’ve put together the following dos and don’ts on designing for accessibility adapted from the UK Government to hopefully help you make your software more accessible to all.

If you need any help making your software more accessible, contact us today.