Digital accessibility refers to the practice of designing and developing digital content, applications, and services that ensure everyone, including people with known and unknown disabilities, can use them.
Imagine you’re a colorblind student who cannot see the presentation during class because the color contrast between the text and background is too similar. Consider a staff member who had eye surgery and suffers from low vision while recovering. They rely on assistive technology to do their job. Think about a faculty member who is hard of hearing, sitting in a busy airport trying to watch a video they can’t hear. All these examples can be addressed by focusing on digital accessibility.
When documents, websites, and digital tools are built to be accessible from the start, people don’t have to spend extra hours retrofitting content, troubleshooting errors, or responding to repeated requests for alternative formats.
Here’s How to Get Started with Digital Accessibility
- Start small: Pick one document that you’ve created or plan to create and make it accessible. As you work through the first document, use the resources on our Digital Accessibility MedTech site to learn how to apply accessibility concepts. We’ll be adding more to this site as new resources are developed, so stay tuned!
- Prioritize: Once you’ve completed one document, think about which resources to prioritize making accessible next.
- Are you making new materials? Start with those! It’s a lot easier to make resources accessible to begin with than to go back and update them later.
- Are you making many similar documents? Make a template to streamline your process and embed accessibility concepts automatically.
- Do a lot of people use one of your materials? Consider updating it sooner.
- Do you have externally facing resources? Prioritize updating these resources due to the wider audience.
- Is there a time when you’re planning to update or rebuild the materials? Check and update for accessibility when you’re already planning to update your resources.
- Get support: Identify the digital accessibility liaison in your unit. They can help you think through how to prioritize making your materials accessible, point you towards specific resources to meet your needs, and answer questions you might have about implementing accessibility concepts.
Digital accessibility work is a marathon, not a sprint. Start by learning the tools you need to implement in your work and gradually move your materials towards being accessible. Work together with your unit’s liaison and others, ask questions, and make progress.
If you have any questions or need help identifying the liaison in your area, please reach out to medicine.accessibility@wsu.edu.