Accessibility is not just an additional requirement, but a fundamental aspect of good design. Ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities also benefits a broader audience, including people who need literacy support and people who speak English as a second or additional language. Ultimately, web designers are responsible for ensuring that site designs are accessible and have been created with input and insights from people with disabilities, including users of assistive technology.
Front-end developers are also critical to creating accessible content. Incorporating accessibility from the beginning of coding, and continuously assessing and testing websites and apps to standards will help ensure they function effectively for people with disabilities and for the broader community.
Your Responsibilities
- Understand WCAG, WAI-ARIA, and stay up-to-date on best practice for accessible design.
- Engage people with disabilities meaningfully in research and design from the start.
- Use accessible tools for UX research and ask about required accessibility accommodations in advance.
- Make all UX artifacts, documentation, and presentations accessible.
- Incorporate accessibility considerations into personas and user stories.
- Code to standards to support flexibility and accessibility.
- Refer to examples of accessible components such as the WAI-ARIA Design Patterns and the US Web Design Systems (USWDS) Component Library.
- Include both automated accessibility testing tools (such as WAVE and Siteimprove) and manual accessibility testing in development sprints.