Each user is unique. Digital products should be accessible and inclusive not only because it is the right thing to do but also because it makes good business sense. An estimated 15-20% of the world’s population live with a disability of some kind, and an estimated 15-20% of the world is neurodiverse. We cannot afford to exclude these users from our target markets.
Accessibility and inclusivity are branches of usability. They are mindsets rather than collections of procedures, regulations, or checklists.
Accessible design helps users with different levels of ability. Many users struggle to interact with digital products because of visual, auditory, cognitive, emotional, or motor challenges.
Inclusive design welcomes users from diverse backgrounds, ensuring that factors such as race, gender, and religion do not hinder their digital experiences.
Resources in this guide can help you assist users with varying types of circumstances and abilities.
Visual Treatments
Accessibility efforts must go beyond simply adding ALT text to images — they must help sighted users too. Mindful visual treatments help users find, see, and understand the information on web pages.
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Article |
Use these visual design tips to improve accessibility for users with visual impairments. |
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Article |
Avoid using low-contrast text to improve accessibility. |
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Article |
Text placed over an image must adequately contrast with the image beneath. |
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6 |
Video |
Disabled buttons confuse users: use them sparingly and ensure they remain accessible. |
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7 |
Article |
Users with normal vision and visual impairments may perform differently in light and dark mode. |
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8 |
Article |
Dark mode can improve accessibility for some users but is largely an aesthetic choice. |
Users Ages 65+
An increasing number of users over the age of 65 rely on digital products in their everyday lives. While these users are becoming more tech-savvy with time, many still struggle with digital interfaces. Many challenges that older adults experience, such as fading eyesight and poorer dexterity, will not change as technology advances.
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Accommodate the common needs of users over 65 with these tips and suggestions. |
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Older users are becoming more tech-savvy. |
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Follow these 4 tips to avoid common usability challenges for older users. |
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5 |
Article |
Help older users understand unfamiliar web terminology. |
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6 |
Video |
Products for older users need to be designed better. |
Screen Readers
Users with low or no vision may rely on screen readers to access the web. Screen readers create a linear, one-dimensional experience that is much different from how sighted users interact with designs. An accessibility widget is not enough; digital products must be designed so that they make sense to screen-reader users.
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1 |
Article |
Alt text should be adapted to the type of image it describes: decorative, functional, or informative. |
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Article |
Alt text should communicate an image’s purpose without repeating page content. |
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Article |
Websites should facilitate easy and logical navigation using only the keyboard. |
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Article |
Touchscreen devices offer a wide array of gestures for controlling screen readers. |
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6 |
Article |
Mobile websites and applications should facilitate scanning for screen-reader users. |
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7 |
Video |
The mouse is the most powerful way for a user to interact with a graphical user interface. |
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8 |
Article |
Screen readers on touchscreen devices make many common actions challenging. |
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9 |
Accessibility Widgets Are Not Enough for Screen-Reader Users |
Video |
Accessibility widgets are not a sufficient substitute for thorough accessibility work. |
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10 |
Video |
Favor direct access over sequential access to make things easier for screen-reader users. |
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11 |
Article |
The Kindle 2 text-to-speech synthesizer is helpful for blind users but needs improvement. |
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12 |
Free Report |
Follow these 75 guidelines to make websites more accessible to assistive-technology users. |
Conducting Accessibility Research
The only way to know if designs are both accessible and usable for users with disabilities is to test them with this population. You must test designs with real people from the target user population to get accurate and useful results.
Conducting accessibility research can be more challenging and intimidating than doing other user research. However, preparing for what is different can help things go smoothly.
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Conducting Mobile Accessibility Research with Screen-Reader Users |
Article |
Follow these tips when conducting usability testing sessions with screen-reader users. |
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Article |
Follow these tips while conducting usability testing sessions with older users. |
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Free Report |
Follow these 40 tips and tricks when running better usability test sessions with people who use any assistive technologies. |
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Video |
Follow these steps to test the keyboard accessibility of your website and identify common issues. |
Inclusive Design
With an increasingly diverse population, it’s critical for interfaces to welcome and accommodate as many different users as possible. It’s disappointing and unfortunate when a design offends or excludes certain groups of people — whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Not all disabilities are permanent or experienced in the same way. Users often find themselves with physical, mental, and emotional challenges that are temporary or do not affect their ability to access digital content.
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Inclusive design welcomes users of all different backgrounds. |
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Accessibility and inclusive design are related but distinct; learn the difference between the two. |
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Video |
Designing for accessibility improves the experience for all users, not just those with disabilities. |
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5 |
Article |
There are different types of disabilities, and designs should accommodate as many as possible. |
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6 |
Article |
Inclusive design is a mindset that can be profitable in the long run. |
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7 |
Video |
Accessibility is a type of usability because users with disabilities still want designs to be easy to use. |
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Article |
See these examples of inclusivity and accessibility in intranet design. |
Early Accessibility Articles by Jakob Nielsen
Jakob Nielsen has advocated for accessible web design since before Nielsen Norman Group was founded in 1998. While accessibility efforts and technological sophistication have changed since then, the same basic principles described in these early articles are just as relevant today.
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Article |
Users have various types of disabilities that designs should accommodate. |
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2 |
Article |
Prioritize accessibility efforts to tackle the most important problems first. |
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Beyond Accessibility: Treating Users with Disabilities as People |
Article |
Websites that were “accessible” were still difficult to use. |
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Article |
Flash MX, launched in 2002, had major accessibility issues. |
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Article |
Blind users think linearly, and designs built with this consideration will be easiest for them to use. |
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Article |
Designs cannot simply be accessible; they must also be easy to use. |
Podcast Episodes
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41. UX Accessibility and Designing for Neurodiversity (feat. Stéphanie Walter) |
Podcast |
Stéphanie Walter reflects on common UX accessibility misconceptions, and what they mean for designers. |
