Web accessibility: principles and how to apply them

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In a society where the internet is part of our way of life, it is essential to create websites that are accessible to the widest possible audience. In this regard, we must keep in mind an often-forgotten group: people with disabilities. This group, like everyone else, must navigate, understand, and interact with the web in the easiest way possible. In other words, as creators, we must ensure that the user experience is optimal and eliminate barriers that could increase website abandonment.

Now, what aspects do we need to consider to ensure a website is accessible? Below, we list some principles and guidelines to keep in mind.

WCAG 2.1 Principles and Guidelines
Today, there are globally recognized verification guidelines, known as WCAG 2.1 . These are governed by four principles:

Principle 1 (Perceptible): Any information displayed must be presented to users in a way that can be easily perceived.
Include alternative text for all non-text content.
Provide alternatives to time-dependent content.
Create content that can be mexico mobile database adapted to different formats without losing information or structure.
That the presentation of the content is perceived instantly.
Principle 2 (Operable): Navigation must be manageable, that is, the content must be accessible from any assistive device.
All functionalities must be accessible via a keyboard.
Users must be given enough time to read and understand the content.
Do not present content that may cause disturbance to users.
Provide users with navigation aids, i.e., to find content or know where they are.
Principle 3 (Understandable): The content we provide must be clear and easy to interpret, without giving rise to confusion or mistakes.
Create readable and understandable content.
Make web page navigation predictable.
Help users prevent and correct errors.
Principle 4 (Robust): Content and navigation must be interpreted by browsers and assistive technologies.
Ensure compatibility with current and future user applications.
How do we apply them?
Once the guidelines are known, it's important to understand how we can approach each of the different groups. Below, we share some recommendations.

People with visual impairments: When targeting people with total or partial blindness, the best aids are screen magnification tools and screen readers (software programs that convert digital text into synthesized speech). For example, to make images easier to read, they should include labels that can be read by these readers. It's also advisable to include visual content with high visual contrast or specify in the HTML code that your website can be read correctly by a screen reader.
People with hearing difficulties: In this case, including subtitles in all audiovisual content is essential. It's also advisable to include sign language in videos.
People with mental disabilities: To address this group, we should use simple words and structured and understandable text.
Technology is advancing, and thanks to it, information and content are accessible to all groups. If you want to offer your users usable websites, we recommend the Usability and User Experience (UX) Course .