Web and mobile accessibility refers to the practice of designing and developing digital platforms that can be accessed and used by individuals with disabilities or diverse needs. It is essential to prioritize accessibility in the design process to ensure that everyone, regardless of their abilities or limitations, can fully engage with and benefit from online content and applications.
Why is accessibility important?
- Inclusivity: Web and mobile accessibility is fundamental to promoting inclusivity and equal opportunities for all users. It enables individuals with disabilities, such as visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor impairments, to navigate, consume, and interact with digital content effectively.
- Legal compliance: Many countries have enacted laws and regulations that mandate accessibility standards for digital platforms. For example, the United States has included accessibility in their Americans with Disabilities Act. Compliance ensures that organizations do not discriminate against individuals with disabilities and protects from fines on this basis.
- Enhanced user experience: Accessible designs benefit all users, not just those with disabilities. Optimizing digital platforms for accessibility improves usability, navigability, and overall user experience, leading to higher user satisfaction and engagement.
Who is responsible?
Our commitment is to follow the best practices, as prescribed by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2). Our components and journeys are designed and developed with the four core accessibility principles, Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust as part of our process.
However, our out-of-the-box components can’t provide any level of certification for accessibility standards. Accessible applications can only be achieved when each aspect of the application (color tokens, components, journeys and other app configurations) is compliant. Many of these aspects are not controlled by the Backbase product and depend heavily on the project implementation. Our commitment is that our product doesn’t limit a project from adhering to an accessibility standard. On the contrary, we strive to provide good examples of how to achieve accessibility.
Accessibility checklist
To support teams adopting our Design System and approaching accessibility for the first time, we’ve prepared basic checklists for designers and developers to refer to when working with our product.