Accessibility: When To Start Implementing it?

Accessibility has become increasingly important in the digital age, where websites and apps dominate our daily lives. As beginners in web development, many are curious about when to start implementing those features. Should we bake in accessibility from the start or do we need to fully comprehend potential barriers beforehand?

When To Start Implementing it?

Ensuring accessibility is often overlooked until it becomes a pressing issue, much like security. Neglecting it can result in the need to rewrite everything, causing unnecessary inconvenience and added effort. It’s best to prioritize accessibility from the start to avoid future difficulties.

It’s crucial to prioritize accessibility by coding it directly into your sites and apps. Prioritizing writing semantic HTML when developing websites is vital, as it is usually the first thing you learn. Semantic HTML can solve most issues, depending on the design. However, if you implement non-native features, special attributes and methods may be necessary to ensure accessibility for your components.

Do you need the whole website completed before identifying areas of concern related to accessibility?

Absolutely not. While having a complete understanding of a project can help with abstract thinking for certain components, it’s not a significant factor. Testing can and should be done on a component level. However, there is an issue with screen readers functioning differently on various browsers, which can require a significant amount of time to get small features working across multiple devices. For instance, many official search-select examples are either unusable or have poor UX.

Nonetheless, the search select component itself is pretty intricate. Our clients must address accessibility if they want it as it can increase project costs. Typically, testers use the web with screen readers.

While it’s essential to make things accessible to some extent, it’s crucial to consider your audience. For example, it may not be necessary to focus on accessibility for a web app designed for individuals working safely at heights who are installing and auditing safety equipment on roofs, as visually impaired individuals are unlikely to access this app.