Beyond Compliance: Designing Truly Accessible Experiences

Photo by Elizabeth Woolner on Unsplash.

I first encountered accessibility over 20 years ago while working as a Navy contractor. Back then, Section 508 loomed like a regulatory boogeyman—something we needed to appease but didn’t fully understand. However, my time at the Social Security Administration made the specter of accessibility compliance very clear. One product team faced a federal injunction for failing to meet Section 508 requirements. The fallout was brutal—team members working 12+ hour days for months, budgets shrinking to cover overtime costs, and layoffs for contractors. This experience shaped how I saw accessibility, often treated across design and development teams as a box to check or a fear to manage, rather than an opportunity to truly create inclusive products.

Who is Accessibility For?

Government guidelines like Section 508 in the U.S. or the European Accessibility Act (EAA) focus on making digital experiences accessible for people with disabilities, which is crucial. I remember visiting my father’s office in high school and seeing a quadriplegic man using a rod attached to a chin cup to press keys. His determination was inspiring, but he spent long hours doing work that could have been made easier with today’s technologies, like eye-tracking or voice recognition. However, if we focus solely on the disabled, we miss the bigger picture—accessibility benefits everyone.

At some point, everyone will need some form of accommodation. As we age, we need larger fonts; new parents juggle apps one-handed while holding their child; warehouse workers with gloves require larger buttons on scanners; emergency operators rely on dark mode during long shifts. Accessibility is for all these scenarios, and more.

How to Prioritize Accessibility in Your Products

Adopt a Universal Design Mindset

Universal design aims to create products usable by everyone, regardless of ability, age, or background. This proactive approach prevents the need for retrofitting later. Thinking about the context in which customers use your products—whether in bright environments, while using heavy equipment, or on slow connections—leads to designs that work better for everyone.

Implement Accessibility at the Design System Level

Accessibility should be embedded in your design system. Components must meet accessibility standards at both design and code levels to ensure consistency across products. Including accessibility guidelines with each design element ensures they stay accessible through all stages of development.

Empower Teams to Require Accessibility

Code reviewers and QA engineers should have the authority to reject work that doesn’t meet accessibility standards. This minimizes costly fixes later and ensures developers learn best practices in real-time. Similarly, design teams should conduct accessibility checks early in the process to catch issues like contrast ratios and type sizes before they reach development.

Provide Regular Accessibility Training

Accessibility is a fast-evolving field. Regular training ensures teams stay up to date on the latest tools and guidelines. Building a culture where accessibility is ingrained in every step—from ideation to release—will make it an integral part of your company’s design ethos.

Conduct Regular User Testing with Diverse Audiences

User testing should include people with a wide range of abilities and circumstances to uncover accessibility barriers. Incorporating feedback from diverse users, including those with disabilities, ensures your products are accessible to a broader audience, and not just the average user.

Making Accessibility Universal

Companies often treat accessibility as a last-minute regulatory hurdle, but adopting a universal design mindset can shift that perspective. Universal design benefits not just people with disabilities, but all users—whether they’re navigating apps with one hand, working in dimly lit rooms, or adjusting to age-related changes. By embedding accessibility into every layer of product development, from design systems to user testing, businesses can create more inclusive, user-friendly experiences for everyone. Ultimately, embracing universal design is not just about compliance—it’s about building better products for all your customers.