What is accessibility?
Simply put: the ability to participate in the basic things of everyday life and to use products, services and information to the same extent as people without disabilities. According to the Federal Competence Center for Accessibility, the term "accessibility" in German refers to the design of the built environment as well as information offerings or communication media and others so that they can also be used by people with disabilities without additional assistance.
Accessibility on the Internet!
"Accessibility means maximizing the number of people who can use computer systems by taking into account that varying physical and sensory capabilities by users. By this definition, accessibility is simply a category of usability"
- Barrier-free Internet does not mean accessible Internet
- Barrier = obstacles that restrict the user in accessing and using the Internet (e.g. black/white monitor)
- People with and without disabilities
- The aim is not to create an Internet for the disabled, but to provide access for everyone, with or without disabilities
Why accessibility?
- The target group is being expanded
- Easier and more intuitive usability of the site
- Texts are easier to read
- Accessible websites are particularly search engine friendly
- Simple texts are easier to understand
- The user-friendliness of a website improves
- Future-oriented thinking
- Not putting obstacles in people's way, but enabling full participation in society
Why accessibility is absolutely essential!
- 7.5 million people in Germany have a recognized severe disability.
- They use the Internet more intensively than average and are a particularly relevant group of online customers.
- For example, they use keyboard-only controls, Braille lines, voice output or joysticks for access. An accessible website is tailored to this.
- Accessibility helps people with visual impairments.
- Ease of use means that people with motor impairments can use your website.
- Simpler texts are easier to understand for non-native speakers and people with low reading skills.
- Accessibility helps people with poor concentration- around 750000 people in Germany alone are affected.
- Accessibility means high user-friendliness.
- Easy and intuitive usability helps all customers.
- With high contrasts, your texts are always easy to read - even on a smartphone in sunlight, for example.
- Simple texts are easy to understand and your messages get across.
- Accessible websites are particularly search engine friendly.
What barriers are there?
In addition to the barriers caused by physical impairments, there are a few more!
- Device-dependent barriers (operating system, browser, resolution)
- Visual barriers (age-related, sunlight, fatigue)
- Acoustic barriers (age-related, deafness, background noise)
- Motor barriers (illness, lack of space, tremors)
- Language barriers (learning disability, foreign language, internet inexperience)
- Cognitive barriers (limited absorption and processing of information)
Who benefits from accessibility?
Various people and things can benefit from the accessible design of the Internet. The most important ones are listed below.
- Elderly people/ senior citizens
- Inexperienced users
- Cognitively impaired
- Motor impaired
- Blind people
- Hearing impaired
- Visually impaired
- Mobile users
- Search engines and accordingly the findability of the website