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A lot of people think of digital accessibility as WCAG conformance. At the State, though, we must ensure that we are providing effective, accessible, and positive experiences. Doing so often requires thinking outside of the "success criteria box." As you work on your digital products, keep the following in mind.
- Complexity (and cognitive load). Keep things simple, be consistent, and make sure to provide help in context. If you embrace our principles, you'll be off to a great start.
- Alternative interactions. Keep people in mind who use alternative input methods like voice, eye tracking, or switch control.
- Empathy. Filling out forms can be stressful. Navigating complex processes can be draining - and even daunting. Make sure your users can undo actions easily, keep user interfaces predictable, and keep your user feedback (like error messages) clear, polite, and helpful.
- How (and where) people use things. If you're using USWDS or another modern responsive UI framework, chances are good that most people on most devices will be able to interact with your solution. In addition to device friendliness, though, think about things like situational context. Providing dark and light interaction modes and user controls for things like font size can be really helpful.
- Your content. Language itself can be inclusive. Make good choices when you're working on content, like being culturally sensitive and opting for gender-neutral words and phrases. For more guidance, check out Content Strategy.
- Stamina. Engaging in multistep processes, filling out applications, and even finding the right information can be time consuming. Avoid unnecessary steps in your workflows, let people save their progress (and be sure to tell them about their progress), and don't make things more complex than they absolutely must be.
- Meaning. Is your website 100% free of missing alternative text issues? If so, that is great! But is your alt text meaningful? Are your video descriptions accurate? Have you actually provided an equitable experience? Don't stop with a thumbs up from an automated accessibility checker. Thoroughly review all alternative text to make sure you're creating an inclusive, equitable, and positive experience.
- System failures. We want all of our systems to be up and working all of the time. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Your digital product should include simple, human-readable, and actionable messaging when server errors and other system failures happen. Always give people a way to get the information or help they need, even if your tech tools are down.