Although generally thought of as something only important to the “disabled”, considering accessibility for digital products improves everyones experience. This is true regardless of their particular abilities. Instead of treating accessibility as a checklist or afterthought, it’s important to build it into every decision being made in a technology project. Like many requirements that are commonly thought of as something included for a niche audience, accessibility is something that not only addresses the needs of the deaf or blind, it broadens the scope of how well all users interact with your product.
Accessibility is far more than just accommodating to a small audience of users with “special needs”. At its core, accessibility is about making sure that as wide an audience as possible can use the products you have worked so hard to create.
Although by no means the only myths that have built up around the limitations of making digital products accessible, these seven crop up most regularly. In this session, Jason will examine each myth individually, expose why they are not true, and talk about how to dispel them.
Myth: Accessibility only helps the “disabled”
Myth: Accessibility is just about the visual and auditory
Myth: If we are 508 Compliant, we are accessible
Myth: Accessibility compliance is a checklist
Myth: Accessibility is the designer’s job
Myth: Accessibility takes too much time & costs more
Myth: Making a product accessible limits design possibilities