!a11y@programming.dev is a community for discussing digital accessibility, sharing techniques and best practices, and talking about accessibility experiences; both good and bad.

Guidelines

• Please keep submissions on topic and try to share high quality content.
• Follow all instance-wide rules, which can be found on the sidebar here: programming.dev
• Don’t be a jerk. Just because something you post doesn’t explicitly break a rule does not entitle you to post whatever you want, and mods will remove any posts or comments we consider to have been made in bad faith.
• Don’t editorialize titles. When sharing something, try to keep the title of whatever article you are sharing, unless it is clearly a clickbait title, and you wish to substitute a simple matter-of-fact title. Please do remove website and author names from the title.

What is Digital Accessibility?

Digital accessibility is the practice of removing barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, digital systems by people with disabilities. This involves designing and developing websites, mobile applications, software, hardware, and other digital platforms in a way that they can be used by individuals with a range of abilities, including those with visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological disabilities.

Digital accessibility not only benefits those with disabilities but also enhances the overall user experience, making digital content more usable and understandable for all. In many jurisdictions, it’s a legal requirement under disability discrimination laws.

How does one improve digital accessibility in their products?

Key components of digital accessibility include accessible website design, multimedia with features like captions or transcripts, properly formatted digital documents, and accessible software and apps. It also extends to hardware design.

Other Accessibility Related communities:

• !transcribing@programming.dev

Useful Resources

• Mozilla Developer Network Accessibility Reference
• UK Government’s Guidance and tools for digital accessibility