Digital accessibility

What does “accessible website” mean?

A website that is accessible can be used by as many people as possible. That means, for example, that I can operate the site with a keyboard, have it read out to me, enlarge it, or use it on a poor internet connection.

This does not concern only a small group. Around one person in six worldwide lives with a disability, estimates the World Health Organization (External link, opens in a new window). On top of that come everyone who is temporarily limited: with a broken arm, on the underground, at a screen in glaring sunlight. And everyone who is getting older. At some point, it will affect you too.

Summary

1. Accessibility pays off economically – more on the benefits.
2. In Austria, the Accessibility Act (BaFG) applies to the private sector and the Web Accessibility Act (WZG) to public bodies – on the legal situation.
3. Technically, all requirements come down to four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, robust – the four WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) principles.
4. Accessibility works best when it is considered from the start of a web project. If you do not yet know how, you can do a workshop with me, or I can review an existing website – more on what I offer.

The four WCAG principles

The international guidelines for accessible web content – the WCAGWeb Content Accessibility Guidelines (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) – sort everything into four principles. Their initial letters spell the word POUR.

Perceivable

What is there has to get through – without eyes, without ears, without colour vision. Images need a description, videos need captions, text needs enough contrast.

Operable

Everything that works with a mouse works with a keyboard too. Focus stays visible, the order makes sense, controls are big enough.

Understandable

Language you understand on first reading. Error messages say what to do, and the navigation is in the same place everywhere.

Robust

Works with today's screen reader, the browser of the day after tomorrow, and every AI agent. Clean, semantic HTML does most of that.

What is semantic HTML? Logical elements structure the content. An element such as <header>, <nav> or <main>, for example, says what it is by itself – for a screen reader just as much as for a search engine:

<header>…</header>
<nav>…</nav>
<main>…</main>

The W3C publishes the full success criteria: WCAG 2.2 (External link, opens in a new window).

How do I reach more customers with an accessible website?

Accessibility is often sold as a legal obligation. The reason it pays off is a different one: someone who cannot order because of a barrier in the shop orders somewhere else.

Customers who leave without saying anything

The British Click-Away Pound survey asked disabled people what they do when a website gets in their way. The answers are uncomfortable for any shop:

• 69 %

  69 % click away as soon as a site is difficult to use – and buy from a competitor.

• 83 %

  83 % stick from the outset to the sites they know work.

• 86 %

  86 % have paid more to buy on an accessible site rather than cheaper somewhere else.

• 8 %

  8 % get in touch with the site owner. The other 92 % leave without a word.

The survey puts the online revenue lost in the United Kingdom at 17.1 billion pounds a year.

Legislation in Austria

The technical benchmark for both the BaFG and the WZG is the European standard EN 301 549 (External link, opens in a new window) (accessibility requirements for ICT products and services), which refers to the WCAG success criteria at level AA and defines further requirements on top.

The legal situation in Germany and Switzerland

In Austria and Germany the same EU directive sits behind both sets of rules, and technically all three countries end up at the WCAG.

And internationally?

Accessibility on the web is regulated in many countries, usually along two lines: an anti-discrimination law and a technical requirement for public bodies. A few well-known examples:

The W3C maintains an overview of the legal situation worldwide: Web Accessibility Laws & Policies (External link, opens in a new window). By its own account it is neither complete nor binding – but for a first look at which country has which law, it does the job.