Fundamentals
A11y is a mindset
Have you ever used a website with your hand broken? Maybe you had problems with reading that small text on your phone in direct sunlight. Or were you in a place where you had to mute your phone, but that one app became unusable without sound cues?
All of this falls under accessibility.
But wait. You might be thinking, Isn’t “accessibility” just making sure disabled people can use our product?
Accessibility, also known as a11y, is more of a mindset that ensures no user gets left behind when developing our apps. So join us on this journey of learning how and why to make our apps better. For everyone
A11y stands for accessibility, because there are 11 characters between "a" and "y".
Fundamentals
The official WCAG 2.0 levels
Level A - Basic
Text alternatives for a non-text content, A keyboard access, Bypass Blocks
Level AA - Intermediate
Captions, Contrast
Level AAA - Advanced
Reading Level, Unusual words, No Timing
Non-official naming
Focusability - The user has to be aware of current focus in every moment
Controllability - All interactive UI elements have to support the standard keyboard events
Readability - A UI has to be predictable
There are a few examples of different impairments.
There are also many other impairments:
Poor internet connection on Prague-Brno train
Localizations
Cognitive diseases
ADHD, PTSD
Simply put, anyone can have a disability, thus everyone should have an equal access to our apps.
A11y is not a feature
It's very important to realize, that a11y means a general usability. Thus it should be naturally a part of Definition of Done.
WCAG
Golden standard
Ultimately all products should be WCAG compliant
WCAG 2.0 - we strive to have a default support for 2.4.10 (as of now)
Last updated