Accessible content

PDFs are commonly used for sharing information and documents, but they have limitations and drawbacks that make them less than ideal for use on the web, especially when compared to good old HTML.

So you’ve just learned about accessibility. Now what? The good news is that it’s never too late and there are steps you can take to make an immediate impact. But what should you do first?

When you work in digital accessibility, you hear a lot of things from customers, designers, developers, and agencies that just aren’t correct. Most are genuine misconceptions, but that doesn’t mean they’re harmless. At best, organizations can end up overspending on accessibility. But they also let organizations psych themselves out of pursuing greater accessibility out of fear that it will be too expensive or too difficult. And at worst, orgs might think they are accessibility conformant but are actually increasing their legal risk while missing out on the business benefits of digital accessibility.

Take a look at your town’s website. I was checking out my local township website to get some election related information last week. And it’s kind of awful. For everyone. But especially for users with disabilities.

Of course, the easiest and most cost-effective way to have a WCAG compliant website is to build it that way in the first place. And while it’s never too late, the absolute best time to start thinking about accessibility is when you are planning your site’s user experience (UX) and designs.