There's something new! Since June 28, 2025, digital accessibility is no longer just a good practice to follow if you have time left: it is statutory requirement for all intents and purposes.
In addition to Public Administrations, with the entry into force of the European Accessibility Act, the WCAG 2.1 guidelines - level AA, become binding, for companies with more than 10 employees or with an annual turnover of more than 2 million euros.
But it's not (only) about avoiding sanctions. For those who design — designers like us, developers, strategists, content creators — accessibility becomes synonymous with quality: designing in an accessible way means — finally — designing better. Not because Brussels imposes it on us, but because it's the right thing to do.
Let's go in order: we understand well what it means, what it changes and what we can — and must — do to create a more digitally accessible world.
Accessibility: What does it really mean?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, with the term Accessibility we mean:
In our own words: 'accessibility' means making spaces, contents and services accessible to anyone, regardless of ability. A right, even before a design choice.
Worldwide, 1.3 billion people live with significant disabilities. It is 16% of the global population. Numbers that cannot be ignored.
Below are the ISTAT rates of disabilities among Internet users in Italy:
In addition to permanent disabilities, temporary or situational disabilities should also be considered:
Disability is not a characteristic of the person. It is the effect of a mismatch between individual and environment, product or service.
When the design doesn't work for someone, that's where the disability comes from.
The equation is simple:
Accessible design = conscious design
But between saying and doing... there's a lot of work involved. Designing accessible products, services and experiences means:
Fortunately, the topic of accessibility has been studied and developed for decades, and this allows designers not to start from scratch: it's about Enable assistive technologies that already exist and to apply clear principles, such as guidelines for the accessible web (WCAG).
Assistive technologies are hardware or software that allow people with disabilities to interact with the environment. And they are everywhere, often in front of our eyes.
Gli eyeglasses, for example. So integrated into everyday life that we forget what they really are: a technology that, for centuries, has enabled millions of people to read, work, drive, study. Without it, even the most trivial actions would become obstacles. The glasses are proof that accessibility is not something extraordinary, but extraordinarily ordinary.
Another assistive technology that we use every day — so familiar that it goes unnoticed — is the keypad. Without a keyboard, the computer would be a silent, closed machine. It is thanks to this tool that we write, program, search, chat, give shape to ideas. Each key is a bridge between intention and action, between mind and machine.
In the 60s and 70s, the keyboard replaced punch cards; in the 80s it entered homes and offices; today it is one of the most universal and inclusive tools ever designed. The keyboard has democratized digital. And this is also the heart of accessibility: designing devices that work for everyone, without labels or distinctions.
And then there are other assistive technologies that we use without paying too much attention to it: subtitles and audio descriptions. The subtitles help to follow the dialogues, while the audio descriptions also describe the sounds and music. Used primarily by people who are deaf or hard of hearing, they are also useful for those who watch a film in a language other than their own or in a noisy environment.
In addition to the most common and commonly used ones, there are specific assistive technologies for each type of disability:
🧠 For cognitive or learning disabilities:
👁 For visual impairment:
👂 For hearing impairment:
🖐 For motor disabilities:
💻 Assistive digital software and tools:
🤖 Emerging technologies:
When we talk — or as in this case, we write — about digital accessibility, we like to tell the Tesco case.
In 2001, Tesco, one of the largest supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, did something simple but revolutionary for the time: it decided to make its e-commerce site accessible.
He didn't do it just to comply with the law or for ethical reasons — which in themselves would still be great reasons, but because he had already understood that making the site more usable for everyone meant expanding his audience. The team worked to optimize the interface, improve readability, make it navigable with the keyboard and compatible with screen readers. Small measures, but profoundly inclusive.
The result? A 350% increase in online sales in a single year.
A fact that speaks for itself: designing in an accessible way does not only mean doing the right thing, it also means — and above all — doing the smart thing. Because when barriers are eliminated, in addition to helping people with permanent disabilities, it facilitates:
What Tesco understood more than twenty years ago is still very valid today: digital accessibility is an investment, not a cost. It is a lever for innovation, growth and differentiation. And in a world where e-commerce is now the main sales channel for many services and products, excluding even 15-20% of the public — people with permanent, temporary or situational disabilities — means losing concrete business opportunities, because it is not a negligible percentage, but a significant share of the market.
Putting people at the center always pay off!
The video game industry is one of the most cutting-edge sectors in terms of digital accessibility: with a turnover that exceeds cinema and music combined, gaming companies have long understood that including more players is not only an ethical choice, but also an enormous competitive advantage.
In recent years, the main players in the sector - Sony, Microsoft and some development studios - have seriously invested in technologies, interfaces and solutions dedicated to making video games accessible even to those with motor, sensory or cognitive disabilities.
In 2018, Microsoft was a pioneer with the launch of theXbox Adaptive Controller (XAC), still today one of the most advanced devices in the videogame accessibility scene.
In 2023, Sony launched the PlayStation Access Controller, a completely redesigned solution to allow people with motor disabilities to play on PS5.
If the controllers are accessible hardware, The Last of Us Part II is the excellent example of accessibility in software. Launched in 2020, it was one of the first triple-A video games to include more than 60 accessibility options. Many gamers with significant disabilities, such as total blindness, were able to play a title of this level for the first time without depending on others.
👉🏻 Watch behind the scenes of TLOU
The web has represented, and continues to represent, an historic turning point for people with disabilities. It is one of the most powerful tools ever created to break down barriers, promote autonomy and expand the possibilities of social, cultural and economic participation.
The web has allowed - and in many cases enabled for the first time - access to information, services and relationships to people who, in the physical world, found structural obstacles. For those who live with motor, sensory or cognitive limitations, the web has meant - and continues to mean - freedom, autonomy and participation.
Thanks to a screen reader, a blind person can read the morning newspaper, do the shopping online, take a university course. Thanks to a computer, a person with mobility difficulties can work remotely, attend meetings and send documents.
The web has had a profound impact on various aspects of daily life, for all people:
The World Wide Web would truly have all the potential to be the most accessible place ever created. It was born with this intent and not us, but its inventor Tim Berners-Lee:
Internet services are available to all individuals, regardless of their hardware and software requirements, network infrastructure, language of birth, culture, geographic location, and physical and mental attitudes.
And yet, if we look at the numbers, the picture is far from reassuring: According to recent estimates, only 1% of the world's websites meet minimum accessibility requirements. Therefore, despite the available technologies and international guidelines, the web remains a profoundly exclusive environment: texts that are too small, buttons not labeled, contents not readable by screen readers, videos without subtitles and audio descriptions.
Unlike the physical world, you don't need elevators or ramps to access the digital world: you only need conscious design choices. It's a cultural issue, not a technical one.
Every time we design an interface, landing page or interaction, we find ourselves at a crossroads: building an experience that includes or an experience that excludes. And all too often, out of laziness, ignorance or lack of priority, we choose — without even realizing it — the second path. The one that leaves people behind and leads nowhere.
We talked about it at the beginning, let's talk about it here: the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) are the guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to improve the accessibility of web content for people with disabilities. Classified in three levels (A, AA, AAA), level AA is considered the minimum reference standard.
According to European directives, compliance with the WCAG is mandatory for Public Administrations and SMEs and must be applied to websites, apps, software and digital services.
The concrete obligations are:
In summary, it is a multidisciplinary standard that involves the entire digital supply chain and provides useful information for designers, developers and, more generally, for anyone who contributes to the creation of accessible digital content
As digital designers, we have the responsibility — and the wonderful opportunity — to build fairer digital environments. Here are 5 fundamental “to do” that concern our role, in line with the WGCA and to always keep in mind:
Using simple language, free of unnecessary technicalities, with short sentences (maximum 15-20 words) helps people with dyslexia, with cognitive difficulties or, simply, those who have little time.
A good contrast between text and background (at least 4. 5:1) improves readability. Avoiding using color alone to convey information is essential to include people who are color blind or have other visual disorders. Plugins (such as Stark or Contrast for Figma) can support visual tests.
An accessible interface is predictable and navigable with the keyboard. All contents must be accessible without the use of a mouse and links must have descriptive texts (e.g. no to “click here”).
Every image must have alternative text (alt text), unless it is purely decorative. Audio and video should include subtitles and, ideally, audio descriptions for blind people.
Screen readers, alternative keyboards or voice interfaces should not hinder access to content. Knowing these technologies helps to design in a more conscious way.
Accessibility is not a check to check at the end of the project: it is a design mindset to adopt right from the start. Wireframe, UI kit, copywriting, testing: each phase is an opportunity to design including all people.
This approach is not in favor we do to anyone: it's a professional responsibility. And also an extraordinary opportunity to make design better, clearer and more useful. As designers, we have the power - and the duty - to reduce digital inequalities and every interface we design can be one more step towards a web that is truly accessible to everyone.
So, designers from all over the world, let's set our mindset on accessibility!
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