The Internet has become a crucial aspect of everyday life. One important point is often overlooked: Accessibility. In Germany alone, around 7.9 million people live with a severe disability, which is almost ten percent. This is why inclusive services are now to be required by law. In 2019, the EU adopted specific requirements for the barrier-free design of digital services in the "European Accessibility Act". In Germany, the Barrierefreiheitssstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) requires the implementation of these requirements for all public online services by 2025.
What is the significance of accessibility in the digital world and why is it increasingly essential?
To get to the bottom of these questions, we have worked out the following points:
1. Accessibility helps to reach a reach a wider range of people. The Internet is not only used by people with full physical and mental abilities, but also by people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive impairments. Accessibility guarantees all peopleregardless of mental or physical limitations, the access to online content.
2. accessibility can improve the user experience for everyone, not just those with disabilities. For example, subtitles and transcripts for videos can be useful for people who are in noisy environments or prefer to read the content. Accessibility features such as a contrast mode can also benefit users with visual impairments.
3. the implementation of the legal requirements regarding accessibility is monitored. If they are not complied with, this can result in a penalty. It may even happen that you are no longer allowed to provide the services in question.
To prevent this from happening, here are a few tips on how you can make your website more inclusive:
You can add alternative texts to your website content. These then allow you to play back images in audio format. Normally, these can be added using certain key combinations. Some social networks, such as Instagram, already offer the insertion of alternative texts as a simple function. Providing a blue filter or intelligent font enlargement is also a great help for many people.
By the way: Using the Eye-Able tool can help you provide accessibility features quickly and easily. We already offer a wide range of inclusive solutions.Our Eye-Able Audit function helps you to ensure that your website is always legally up to date! The function offers you the opportunity to independently check your website for WCAG conformity, to which the legislation also refers. It not only shows you where the errors are, but also how they can be rectified.
In a world that is becoming increasingly digitalized, it is important not to exclude anyone, because areas such as education, business, entertainment, etc. only work with social and societal participation. In order to guarantee this, accessibility must be pursued at all costs. For us, there is definitely more to this than just a legal requirement. Let's work together for a world that is accessible to all
