{"id":13800,"date":"2019-05-21T14:44:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T12:44:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/?p=13800"},"modified":"2019-11-15T12:04:01","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T10:04:01","slug":"web-accessibility-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/en\/blog\/web-accessibility-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Web accessibility explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Table of Contents<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#1\">What is web accessibility and why is it important?<\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#2\">Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#3\">WCAG 1.0<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#4\">WCAG 2.0<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#5\">WCAG 2.1<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#6\">Levels of compliance<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#7\">Legal requirements<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#8\">How to implement web accessibility<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#9\">DIY accessibility testing<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#10\">Professional accessibility audit<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#11\">Accessibility as the standard for every new release<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#12\">7 Accessibility experts to follow on Twitter<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"1\"><\/a>What is web accessibility and why is it important?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), \u201cweb accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them.\u201d In other words, accessible websites are websites that enable as many users as possible to perceive, understand, navigate, interact with, and contribute to them.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhile 20 years ago the internet was a place for tech geeks, it is now a primary source of information, entertainment, and communication.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"attachment_13816\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13816\" class=\"wp-image-13816 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/156638562745485864-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/156638562745485864-328x328.png 328w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/156638562745485864-130x130.png 130w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/156638562745485864-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-13816\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laura Geley<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To understand why web accessibility matters, we first have to understand the role that the web plays in today\u2019s society. In <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.toptal.com\/designers\/ui\/importance-web-accessibility\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UX and the Importance of Web Accessibility<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, senior UX\/UI designer Laura Geley explains: \u201cWhile 20 years ago the internet was a place for tech geeks, it is now a primary source of information, entertainment, and communication. It\u2019s used for everything from shopping to sharing moments with friends, reading the news, watching TV shows, applying for jobs, booking vacations, and more. Yet, for people with disabilities, there are barriers in place that make many of these things inaccessible, as many websites don\u2019t consider their needs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Translated into the physical world, that\u2019s as if companies didn\u2019t care about offering ramps for wheelchair users. Or Braille signs for the blind. Companies have an ethical responsibility to make sure the digital customer experience, which includes their website but also apps, eBooks, and more, is fit to be used by as many people as possible, including those with impairments.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou&#8217;re potentially alienating one billion people or 15% of the world\u2019s population.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"attachment_13819\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13819\" class=\"wp-image-13819 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/156638562745485864-1-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/156638562745485864-1-328x328.png 328w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/156638562745485864-1-130x130.png 130w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/156638562745485864-1-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/156638562745485864-1-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/156638562745485864-1-480x480.png 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-13819\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sveta Slepner<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unfortunately, the ethics argument alone may not be enough to convince all companies to invest in web accessibility. But there is another aspect: the money they\u2019re currently losing. In <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/swlh\/why-web-accessibility-is-far-more-important-than-you-think-831d9bfdf9af\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why Web Accessibility is Far More Important Than You Think<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, full-stack developer Sveta Slepner explains that by failing to make your website accessible, \u201cyou\u2019re potentially alienating one billion people or 15% of the world\u2019s population,\u201d including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">people with auditory, cognitive, neurological, physical, or visual disabilities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the elderly, e.g. because they can no longer read small fonts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">people with injuries, e.g. because they can\u2019t use a mouse.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">people in noisy environments, e.g. because they\u2019re unable to hear a video.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sveta says that \u201cby making your site accessible, you automatically increase the target audience and add new groups for which it did not provide any service before. Subsequently, you get increased traffic and thus the number of conversions increases as well.\u201d She adds that implementing accessibility is good for SEO. It also improves the general UX by making websites easier to use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To sum up, the web is a major part of modern life. So making it accessible is the right thing to do \u2013 both from an ethical and from a business perspective.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"2\"><\/a>Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)<\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_13858\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13858\" class=\"wp-image-13858 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-wheelchair-user-WCAG-guidelines-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-wheelchair-user-WCAG-guidelines-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-wheelchair-user-WCAG-guidelines-328x219.jpg 328w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-wheelchair-user-WCAG-guidelines-195x130.jpg 195w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-wheelchair-user-WCAG-guidelines-1920x1281.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-wheelchair-user-WCAG-guidelines-2048x1367.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-wheelchair-user-WCAG-guidelines-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-wheelchair-user-WCAG-guidelines-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-wheelchair-user-WCAG-guidelines-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-wheelchair-user-WCAG-guidelines-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-13858\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: freepik.com.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The W3C\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/WAI\/WCAG21\/quickref\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are the most widely adopted and comprehensive technical standards for creating accessible web content. To date, the W3C has released three versions, WCAG 1.0 in 1999, WCAG 2.0 in 2008, and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WCAG 2.1 in 2018<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The difference between WCAG 1.0 and WCAG 2.0 is the way they organize accessibility guidelines.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"3\"><\/a>WCAG 1.0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WCAG 1.0 uses three priority levels.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What a web developer must satisfy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What a web developer should satisfy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What a web developer may address.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Focusing mainly on HTML, WCAG 1.0 can be considered obsolete in today\u2019s world of PDFs, eBooks, native mobile apps, and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"4\"><\/a>WCAG 2.0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WCAG 2.0 replaces WCAG 1.0. It is designed to be technology-agnostic, i.e. to cover all of the digital assets we use today. Its four universal design principles are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Perceivable<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Users must be able to perceive all relevant information in your content.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Operable<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Users must be able to operate the interface successfully.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Understandable<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Users must be able to understand the information and operation of the interface.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Robust<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Content must be accessible to all users and can be interpreted by a wider variety of user agents.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"5\"><\/a>WCAG 2.1<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The WCAG 2.1 is an update to the still valid WCAG 2.0 guidelines that simply adds new success criteria to WCAG 2.0.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"6\"><\/a>Levels of compliance<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WCAG standards have three levels of compliance:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Level A (low number of criteria)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example: Websites conforming to level A must provide everything that is said in videos in written form (e.g. in the video description).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Level AA (medium number of criteria)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example: Websites conforming to level AA must provide everything that is said in videos in written form and realtime (i.e. subtitles).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Level AAA (highest number of criteria)<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example: Websites conforming to level AAA must provide everything that is said in videos in written form and realtime (i.e. subtitles) and also in sign language.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"7\"><\/a>Legal requirements<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s important to remember that while the WCAG is not legally binding per se, it does provide a reference for accessibility laws around the globe.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13808\" style=\"width: 3010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13808\" class=\"wp-image-13808 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/map.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2121\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-13808\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Countries that have adopted WCAG standards. Source: 3PlayMedia.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the United States, for example, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) does not mention specific web accessibility standards. But the Department of Justice (DOJ) has acknowledged that under the ADA, places of public accommodation must either ensure their websites are accessible or provide an accessible alternative meeting the technical requirements of the WCAG 2.0, Level AA.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"8\"><\/a>How to implement web accessibility<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"9\"><\/a>1. DIY accessibility testing<\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_13837\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13837\" class=\"wp-image-13837 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-testing-DIY-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"web accessibility testing DIY\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-testing-DIY-328x246.jpg 328w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-testing-DIY-173x130.jpg 173w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-testing-DIY-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-testing-DIY-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-testing-DIY-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-testing-DIY-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-testing-DIY-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-testing-DIY-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-13837\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Mimi Thian on Unsplash.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You don\u2019t have to be a web developer to test the basics. Here are five easy accessibility tests anyone can perform:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check for ALT tags, captions, subtitles, and transcriptions.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An accessible website will make all media understandable without visuals and\/or audio. Images should have ALT tags and captions and videos should have subtitles and transcriptions to explain the visuals in written form.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unplug your mouse.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An accessible website will allow you to interact with all controls, links, and menus using your keyboard. Selected elements will be visually noticeable as such and the order in which you skip from one element to the next, e.g. from field label to field input box, will make sense with the visual layout of the page.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Increase the contrast.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On a Windows device, simply hit Alt + Shift + PrtScn. On a Mac, go to the Apple icon in the menu bar &gt; System Preferences &gt; Accessibility &gt; Display and check the box that says \u201cIncrease contrast.\u201d An accessible website will not have any elements that become illegible with high contrast.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Turn off images.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Safari, go to the menu and hit Safari &gt; Preferences &gt; Advanced. Check the box that says \u201cShow Develop menu in menu bar,\u201d then go back to the menu and hit Develop &gt; Disable Images. On Chrome, go to chrome:\/\/settings\/ &gt; Advanced &gt; Privacy and Security &gt; Site Settings &gt; Images and deselect \u201cShow all.\u201d An accessible website will not become more difficult to understand or navigate without images.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Turn off styling.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Safari, go to the menu and hit Safari &gt; Preferences &gt; Advanced. Check the box that says \u201cShow Develop menu in menu bar,\u201d then go back to the menu and hit Develop &gt; Disable Styles. On Chrome, you\u2019ll have to install a plugin like CSS-Block. An accessible website will not become more difficult to understand or navigate without styling.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By performing all of these tests, you\u2019ll likely uncover several accessibility issues. But don\u2019t worry! Accessibility experts can help you to not only fix your current issues but also maintain web accessibility going forward.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"10\"><\/a>2. Professional accessibility audit<\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_13844\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13844\" class=\"wp-image-13844 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-professional-audit-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-professional-audit-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-professional-audit-328x219.jpg 328w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-professional-audit-195x130.jpg 195w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-professional-audit-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-professional-audit-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-professional-audit-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-professional-audit-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-professional-audit-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-professional-audit-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-13844\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Amy Hirschi on Unsplash.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some organizations companies can contact for professional accessibility audits and support as well as for country-specific information about legal requirements.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Switzerland: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.access-for-all.ch\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Access for all foundation<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Austria: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/waca.at\/die_ocg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Austrian Computer Society<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Germany: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/2bweb.biz\/services\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jan Hellbusch Accessibility Consulting<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">France: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tanaguru.com\/en\/services\/supporting-web-accessibility\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tanaguru Accessibility Services<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United Kingdom: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/diginclusion.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dig Inclusion Accessibility Services<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Netherlands: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accessibility.nl\/english\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Accessibility Foundation<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"11\"><\/a>3. Accessibility as the standard for every new release<\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_13849\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13849\" class=\"wp-image-13849 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-developer-guide-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-developer-guide-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-developer-guide-328x219.jpg 328w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-developer-guide-195x130.jpg 195w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-developer-guide-1920x1282.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-developer-guide-2048x1367.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-developer-guide-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-developer-guide-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-developer-guide-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/08\/web-accessibility-developer-guide-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-13849\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Ilya Pavlov on Unsplash.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once your website is accessible, you need to keep it that way. Every new release, every update, and even every new blog post should be accessible. The easiest way to achieve this is to keep accessibility at the forefront of your mind and to consult the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accessibility-developer-guide.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Accessibility Developer Guide<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the start. Additionally, you should test your website frequently and request a professional audit and\/or get recertified on a regular basis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"12\"><\/a>7 Accessibility experts to follow on Twitter<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Finally, here are 7 experts whose accessibility-related tweets you won&#8217;t want to miss:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jennylayfluffy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jenny Lay-Flurrie<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft, 9k followers<br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pwthornton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Patrick Thornton<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Head of UX and Design at FiscalNote, 10k followers<br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/feather\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Derek Featherstone<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Chief Experience Officer at Level Access, 15k followers<br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NeilMilliken\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neil Milliken<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Accessibility Lead at Atos, 18k followers<br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LauraKalbag\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Laura Kalbag<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, author of Accessibility for Everyone, 20k followers<br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MeaganMarie\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meagan Marie<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, author of Women in Gaming, 23k followers<br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SaraSoueidan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sara Soueidan<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, freelance front-end UI developer and trainer, 80k followers<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Happy liking, commenting, retweeting, and networking!<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more accessibility-related content, head over to ? <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/en\/accessibility\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">testingtime.com\/accessibility<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Table of Contents What is web accessibility and why is it important? Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) WCAG 1.0 WCAG 2.0 WCAG 2.1 Levels of compliance Legal requirements How to implement web accessibility DIY accessibility testing Professional accessibility audit Accessibility as the standard for every new release 7 Accessibility experts to follow on Twitter What [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":14653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8991],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accessibility"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.5 (Yoast SEO v20.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Web accessibility explained - TestingTime<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/en\/blog\/web-accessibility-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Web accessibility explained\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/en\/blog\/web-accessibility-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TestingTime\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/testingtime\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-21T12:44:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-11-15T10:04:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/05\/DP_568124_HeroWebAccess_2_102319.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tamara Marie Johnson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@testingtime\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@testingtime\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tamara Marie Johnson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/en\/blog\/web-accessibility-explained\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/en\/blog\/web-accessibility-explained\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tamara Marie Johnson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/4e40f9c7eb46e9ad4efb85cb01197a42\"},\"headline\":\"Web accessibility explained\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-21T12:44:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-11-15T10:04:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/en\/blog\/web-accessibility-explained\/\"},\"wordCount\":1590,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Accessibility\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/en\/blog\/web-accessibility-explained\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/en\/blog\/web-accessibility-explained\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/en\/blog\/web-accessibility-explained\/\",\"name\":\"Web accessibility explained - 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