Resources
Digital accessibility, in practice
An accessible service works with a keyboard, reads aloud, keeps its meaning in high contrast and opens on a modest device. These four requirements benefit everyone and can be checked in minutes.
Four checks that cover the essentials
Move through your page using the keyboard only: every interactive element must be reachable and the focus permanently visible. Turn on a screen reader: the heading structure must tell the page on its own. Measure text contrast: the ratio must stay readable in bright sun as on a worn screen. Finally load the page on a slow network: what appears first must already be useful. Those four passes take ten minutes and repeat at every release.
- Full keyboard navigation, with focus always visible
- A coherent heading structure that describes the page on its own
- Alternative text stating the image's function, not its appearance
- Measured contrast, held on text as on interface cues
- Useful content displayed before the full load completes
When each check happens
- 01
At design time
Contrast and target size are decided in the mock-up. Fixed later, they reopen the whole screen.
- 02
At build time
Semantic structure and tab order are written with the markup, in a single pass.
- 03
At review time
The reviewer walks the page with the keyboard. It is the fastest and most revealing check.
- 04
At release time
An automated contrast and page-weight measurement locks the gains in for later releases.
The place the catalogue gives it
- taught hours on accessibility
- 180
- hours on web foundations
- 200
- modules in the design field
- 11
Dedicated block of the design programme.
Semantic structure, responsive layout, performance.
Continuing-education base, real count.
Questions about accessibility
How long do these checks take?
The four passes take around ten minutes per screen, and they happen at review time. Placed there, they cost a fraction of the time they would save if the gap were found after release.
Which device should I test on?
On the one your users genuinely use, which most often means an entry-level phone on an ordinary mobile network. The design programme explicitly treats modest devices and low bandwidth as project constraints.
Does accessibility constrain graphic design?
It sets the frame, like a grid or a type scale: measured contrast, adequate target sizes, visible focus. Designs that hold those rules gain readability for everyone, which makes them better and not merely compliant.
Explore next
- Component systemsDesign tokens, component libraries, documentation and hand-off to development: building an interface system that holds at scale.
- Writing for the webWeb writing techniques: information first, headings that answer, short sentences, the words readers use, clear calls to action.
- Search visibilityKeyword research, answering content, technical optimisation and internal linking: the organic search method applied to a small company.
- Online advertisingAuction mechanics, audiences, ad creative, daily budget, attribution and acquisition cost: running a measurable campaign.
- Community managementEditorial line, realistic calendar, phone-shot content production, moderation, handling sensitive situations and a measured monthly report.
- Customer journeySegmentation, targeting, positioning and value proposition: building an accurate message and placing it at the right moments in the purchase journey.