#TIL: What is digital accessibility and why does it matter?
By Apoorv Kulkarni
Remember that time when your smartphone stopped working or you couldn’t access the internet? Others could chat on WhatsApp, watch videos on YouTube, book cabs on Ola and even make payments digitally. However, you weren’t able to do any of it. Perhaps, you felt like you were locked out of the digital world and were frustrated. That’s the feeling regularly experienced by millions of Persons with Disabilities.
Globally, 15% of the population or over a billion people live with some kind of disability. In India, the official number of Persons with Disabilities is 26.81 million or 2.21% of the population (Census 2011). Chances are that the actual number could be much larger than the official figures.
Many people are curious how Persons with Disabilities access (use) smartphones, computers or the internet. Today, on the Global Accessibility Awareness Day, here is a quick bite on digital accessibility:
Persons with Disabilities use specialised softwares or tools categorised as “Assistive Technology” to operate smartphones or computers, or access the internet:
- A person living with a visual disability may use a screen reader or a magnifier to access the content displayed on a screen
- A deaf or hard of hearing person may need hearing aids or closed captions to watch a movie or engage on a video call. Similarly, they may need a text input device to communicate on the call
- A person living with a locomotor disability may be unable to use a mouse and so may need to use alternative input devices such as a head pointer
- A person with cognitive disability may need the content to be presented in a simple language and in a well-organised manner
The assistive technology softwares and tools are developed with an assumption that the apps, websites, smartphones and computers will in turn be built in compliance with international accessibility guidelines. These guidelines are called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The latest version of these guidelines were released in June 2018 and are referred to as WCAG 2.1.
There are four basic principles of WCAG:
- Perceivable: “Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.” This means that the content should be made available such that weak or impaired senses are not a barrier in consuming it. For instance, provide closed captioning for videos to make it consumable for the deaf. Another example could be providing image descriptions so that the people with visual disability are able to understand and appreciate the same.
- Operable: “User interface components and navigation must be operable.” This principle requires that the apps and websites along with their interactive elements (example: buttons and text fields) should be controllable using a wide variety of devices such as keyboard, head pointer, voice input, etc. It also means that these elements are fault tolerant and do not have attributes which are known to trigger seizures or involuntary physical reactions.
- Understandable: “Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable.” This principle aims to have language and functionality which is easy to comprehend. There should be predictability and consistency across various elements of an app or a website.
- Robust: “Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.” This means that the apps and websites should work well across platforms, devices, and technologies — including assistive technology.
Now that we all have learnt a little bit more about accessibility and its importance, let’s keep it top of mind whenever we design a new product or technology — including an app or a website. In this way, we can ensure that the digital world can be equally accessible for the billion+ persons with Disabilities around the world.
Today I learnt (TIL) is a weekly series by OMI that brings you interesting nuggets of information that you didn’t know you needed.
