Universal design means creating products, services, and places that a variety of people can use. In other words, when something is universally designed, creators are thinking about people’s accessibility needs during the design process. Similarly, more people can use websites when web designers, developers, and content creators design with accessibility in mind. Therefore, this mindset could be called universal design for the web.
Universal Design for the Web
Web developers should start using universal design for the web by complying with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0), level AA. For example, these guidelines include criteria that make the web easier for many people to access, such as:
- Consistent layouts
- Content that users can perceive in different ways, including:
- Compatibility with various assistive technologies, including:
- Accessible ways for users to input information
- Ways to avoid online accessibility barriers, such as time limits or moving information
In addition, WCAG 2.1, a more up-to-date list of criteria, includes guidelines for:
- Display in portrait or landscape orientation
- Online forms
- Designing text users can reformat
- Non-text colour contrast
- Content that appears and disappears
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Pointer gestures
- Status messages
Our next series of articles will describe other common features of websites that make them accessible to a variety of people. For instance, some of these features are:
- Colour contrast
- Headings
- Alternative text (alt-text)
- Image descriptions
- Hidden decorative objects
- Lists
- Tables
- Visual styles, such as:
- Font and font size
- Colour
- Highlighting, bold, or italics
- Accessible links and buttons
- Audio narration
- Accessibility statements
Moreover, many of these features of universal design for the web also make other communication more accessible, such as:
- Messages, including:
- Emails
- Internal workplace messaging
- Documents, including:
- Portable document format (PDF) files
- Microsoft Word files
Most of these programs or types of files have different menus or processes. As a result, the exact steps to implement some of these accessible features are slightly different. Nonetheless, it is possible to use most of these features in all forms of communication. Therefore, people who communicate online in any way should know about and use features of universal design for the web.