Why should Startups consider Accessibility?

Startups may be small companies, but they play a significant role in the society. They make the lives easier for all of us, by developing innovative products and services. New entrepreneurs come up with new ideas, much needed for constant innovation. They always try to find out the solutions for the existing problem in the society. So, the question arises, “why Startups should consider accessibility?” I would like to discuss the meaning and importance of accessibility for the startups, and some of the challenges and solutions.

 

What is Accessibility?

Accessibility is designing of your product and services in such a manner, that it can be usable by everyone, to the maximum greatest extent. Accessibility is treating everyone the same, and giving them equal opportunities, no matter what their ability or circumstances. Common examples of accessibility features include:

·      Alternative text for the images.

·      Captions and audio description for the videos.

·      Descriptive label for the controls.

·      Operable through keyboard and other input devices.

·      Compatible with the assistive technologies like screen readers, speech input technologies etc.

 

What is the importance of Accessibility for Startups

·      Accessibility drives innovation: Accessibility is not the barrier in the innovation, it is an innovation itself, as you are considering everyone. For example, Apple developed world first ever gesture based screen reading software for blind users named “Voice Over”. Within weeks of launch, Apple received a special commendation from the National Federation of the Blind “For designing the first fully accessible touchscreen interface. Similarly, Google has developed “google assistant”, a voice control mechanism, implemented for users with physical impairments, has been more widely adopted as a great convenience by millions of other users as well.

·      Accessibility improves your brand image: If your products and services are accessible, it shows that you and the organization you work for are committed to basic ideals of equal opportunity and fairness. It will help you to achieve range of benefits such as, enhanced brand image and reputation, increased sales and customer loyalty, improved workforce diversity and many more. For example, Microsoft has developed Immersive Reader, which is a free learning tool that implements proven techniques to improve reading and writing for people, regardless of their age or ability. Microsoft is committed for empowering more people and organization. And this is what it makes the difference.

·      Accessibility increases your customer base: The market of disability is very large. They are ready to spend to live there lives independently. For example: It is difficult to do shopping from a mall, as Shopping requires grabbing items and putting them into a cart. It requires putting the items on the conveyer belt or counter at the register to purchase them. A person with motor impairment cannot do these things. A person who is blind or who has low vision is not going to be able to see well enough to get around the store to know where to find items. A good solution is shopping online. A person with motor impairment, blindness, or low vision could use the appropriate assistive technologies and purchase things online, completely independently, without receiving help from anyone. Similarly, it is difficult for the person having disability to catch autos or taxis on the road. Online cab booking services are the great help from them. But… What if these online platforms are not accessible? You are losing your potential customers. People with disabilities make up 1 billion of the world’s market. That population and their families control more than $13 trillion in disposable income, according to Return on Disability’s “The Global Economics of Disability.”

·      Accessibility is for everyone: Accessibility is not only going to benefit people having disabilities. It is for everyone, as everyone can face situational disability. Any one of us can enter the dark or noisy environment. An injury or an illness can cause anyone of us to use the internet differently on a temporary basis. Every family has older people.

·      Web Accessibility for Older Users: Reveals that:

-       Hearing loss affects 47% of people aged 61 to 80.

-       Vision decline affects 16% of people aged 65 to 74.

-       Mild cognitive impairment affects 20% of people over 70.

-       Arthritis affects more than 50% of people over 65.

In short, developing accessible digital products helps you reach a much larger audience, which will include you, your co-workers, and your family. 

·       Accessibility Improves Search Engine Optimizations: Accessibility requires providing alternative text for the images, captions and transcripts for the videos and audios etc. It also emphasizes using HTML semantic markup. These all help in boosting the search engine optimization. Your users and potential customers will find your web site more easily.

·      Accessibility can protect you from costly legal action: There are various accessibility related laws in various countries. Accessibility is the right for the people having disability. They can decide to sue you if your website or software is not accessible. Which might affect your public image, and it can be a huge expense.  The same can be avoided by creating accessible website or software at first place. Accessibility keeps you out of court. However, I personally believe that good accessibility is implemented by desire, not by force.


Why doesn’t startups bother about accessibility?

·      Lack of awareness: People are not aware about accessibility. I have talked to various young entrepreneurs, but they don’t have any idea about accessibility. They consider accessibility in some different context. They are not aware about the standards for accessibility. So, for those people who are not aware about the standards of accessibility, I would like to tell you that W3C has developed Web Content Accessibility Guidelines which addresses standards for accessibility. These standards are based on 4 principals as Pursuable, Operable, Understandable and Robust. You can get a detailed understanding from the following resources.

-       https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/

-       https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/

·      Accessibility is the costly affair: Actually, it is not the problem, it is a myth. If accessibility is implemented from the beginning, then it doesn’t cost much. It is worth spending little amount on accessibility, as it improves overall usability of your product, enhance brand image, and increase customer base, and helps in avoiding costly legal obligation. If you become a big business tomorrow, and someone sue you due to inaccessibility, then this would be a costlier affair.

·      Accessibility is very complex and time consuming: Again, this is also a myth, not a problem. Yes, it can be a complex task if you consider accessibility at the later stage. It is as complex as adding ramps when your multi floor building is ready. So, again, if accessibility is implemented from the beginning, then it is not a complex task. Accessibility just requires change in your coding pattern. You can have a look on the use of ARIA for making your website accessible.

-       https://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-practices-1.1/

·      Difficult to find manpower resources: Agree… This can be an issue. That’s why I feel that Accessibility should be taught in schools and colleges as a mandatory subject. However, as a startup you can search potential candidates on LinkedIn and other employment portals. You can also train your existing employees initially. You just need to do little R&D, and you will get lots of resources over internet. If your business grows, then you can outsource the accessibility work.

I would like to end up here by saying few more words. Startup founders can build an accessible organization from the ground up. Startups are the clean slate. Therefore, it is not hard for them to make meaningful changes. Today’s startups are the big business of tomorrow. If your goal is to achieve big, then please do consider accessibility. It will benefit you and everyone in the society.

 

References:

·       https://www.w3.org/WAI/business-case/

·       https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/03/make-accessibility-part-of-your-startups-products-and-culture-from-day-one/     


You can also find this article on:

https://www.linkedin.com/puls0e/why-should-startups-consider-accessibility-amena-kanchwala


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