Accessibility means designing products, services, and environments so that everyone — including people with disabilities — can use them without barriers.
The term comes from “accessible,” which means “able to be reached or entered.” In the digital world, accessibility is about making websites, apps, and tools work for people with visual, hearing, motor, or cognitive impairments. It’s not a bonus feature — it’s a basic human right and, in many places, a legal requirement.
Picture this: you’re using a screen reader to browse the web, but a site has images with no alt text and buttons labeled “Click here” with no context. That site is inaccessible. Now imagine a well-designed site that works with keyboard navigation, has clear contrast, captions for videos, and meaningful labels — that’s accessible design in action.
Good accessibility helps everyone. Closed captions help people in noisy environments. Bigger text helps tired eyes. Keyboard shortcuts help power users. It’s about inclusion — designing for the edges, not just the middle.
For more, check out W3C’s accessibility standards.
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