The 4 accessibility principles and why they matter
As a communication professional in the 21st century, websites are our bread and butter. Whether you actually manage websites, create content for them, or offer advice on messaging and brand, knowledge of websites is a big part of what we expect from a communication professional.
But what we don’t necessarily expect (but should expect) is for those comms pros who work with websites to understand accessibility best practices. And there’s a big reason why this is important: According to the World Health Organisation, 1.6 billion people (or one in six of us) experience significant disability (source: WHO 2023). People can also move in and out of disability - for example, a temporary injury that results in poor visibility, hearing, cognitive capability, or mobility.
Accessibility with websites is key to reaching more audiences, more effectively. In applying accessibility best-practice principles, we also make websites a better communication tool for everyone!
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 are an international standard that outlines best practices for accessibility with website design and content. Everything from video, imagery, colours, fonts, navigation and more is covered in these guidelines.
The WCAG is built on four principles of accessibility, each with its own set of guidelines. These principles help us comms pros better understand what we’re doing and why, and ultimately can help guide our practices in all channels, not just websites.
It’s helpful to remember the acronym ‘POUR’ for these principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust.
Perceivable
Perceivable means that when a person interacts with a website, they can perceive all the information being presented. That is, all of their senses should be able to ‘read’ or ‘view’ the content. For example, a video without captions or a transcript is not perceivable to someone who is deaf or hearing impaired. Likewise, an image without a written description is not perceivable to a person who is blind or vision impaired. Or, the colours and fonts that are used make it difficult to see and understand content.
Perceivable also relates to how the information is presented and how the site is structured. Simpler layouts are easier to understand, and consistent use of menus, navigation and links throughout the site helps people easily navigate from page to page because they can easily perceive how the site works.
Operable
Operable refers to the functionality of the site, and how easy it is to use for people with various disabilities. For example, some people only navigate websites using keyboards, not by using a mouse, so elements like buttons, navigation, and even filling out forms need to be keyboard-friendly.
Also, some users rely on screen readers and other assistive devices, like voice recognition, to be able to use the full functionality of a site. So the clarity of messaging for interactive features is key. For example, a button can’t just say ‘click here’, it needs to explain what a person is clicking for - for example, ‘Click here to access the form’.
Finally, if you have content that is on an automatic timer - like scrolling text or pop-ups - allow users enough time to read and understand the content.
Understandable
Understandable means that both the functionality and the content of the website must be easy to understand for all users. For communication professionals, this means using simple, easy-to-understand language. It’s a principle we should be applying to all of our work anyway! So avoid using jargon, unusual phrases or cliches, acronyms and abbreviations.
Again, an understandable, repeatable site layout and site navigation is important. It allows ease of use without having to re-learn how the site works every time you go to a new page.
Robust
We all know technology changes rapidly - even daily in some cases! So the content, functionality, site structure, and navigation we use in our website design must be able to stand the test of time.
That’s important because the assistive technology some people use might not keep up at the same pace. Also, people will need to re-learn how to interact with websites as things change. So as we approach website design and applying best-practice accessibility, we need to be thinking about long-term use. And if something does change that impacts the accessibility of a site - for example, new versions of web browsers - we need to respond quickly.
Ultimately, all of these principles and guidelines make communication better for everyone, not just those experiencing disability. So it makes sense to design and write with these principles in mind as part of our general best-practice communication approach.
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