Global Accessibility Awareness Day
The 12th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) takes place on Thursday 18th May 2023 and is an annual event which aims to raise awareness about digital accessibility and the importance of inclusive design for people with disabilities.
Phew is committed to ensuring that websites delivered to clients are accessible and inclusive for as many users as possible, so has partnered with Siteimprove to reinforce this. This blog post outlines the actions we take for clients.
One billion people worldwide are living with disabilities/impairments affecting vision, motor, hearing, and cognitive skills, with 14 million of them based in the UK. This highlights the importance of digital accessibility and ensuring that websites, applications, and digital content are designed in a way that makes them understandable to everyone.
Assistive technology enables people to use the web to its full extent. These include:
- Screen readers which can read the content of a website aloud for people who are blind or visually impaired. They can also interpret images and provide descriptions for them.
- Text-to-speech software converts the text on a website into spoken words for people who have difficulty reading or comprehending written content.
- Alternative text, also known as alt text, is a description of an image that can be read by screen readers. It provides context for users who are unable to see the image.
- Keyboard navigation allows users to navigate a website using only the keyboard, which can be helpful for people with physical disabilities or those who have difficulty using a mouse.
- Captions and transcripts provide text versions of audio and video content on a website, making it accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
- Websites should use high-contrast colours for text and background to ensure that content is easily readable.
- Adjustable font sizes allow users to increase or decrease the size of the text on a website, making it easier to read for people with visual impairments.
GAAD is a chance for us all to come together and promote digital accessibility. By raising awareness, educating ourselves and others, and advocating for inclusive design, we can help create a more accessible and inclusive world. Let’s make digital accessibility a priority and ensure that everyone has equal access to the digital world. The GAAD website provides useful information about the event and examples of how inclusive design and development can impact lives.
If you are a Phew website client and want to add Siteimprove to your package to ensure that your website is continuously meeting accessibility standards, then please get in touch with the team by emailing support@phew.org.uk or phoning 01234 779050.