Disability Resources Contextual Statement – Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education’s
AHEAD Statement on Language – AHEAD, the Association on Higher Education And Disability
Disability Language Style Guide – National Center on Disability and Journalism
Use Clear and Understandable Content | Cognitive Accessibility
Understanding Link Purpose - Don't Use "Click Here" for links!
What is Digital Accessibility?
Digital accessibility means that digital content is designed to be usable by people with disabilities, ensuring that everyone can engage with these resources fully, equally, and independently. This applies to a wide range of digital products, such as:
Websites
Mobile apps
Videos
Podcasts
Social Media Posts
Electronic documents
any resource that's been digitized!
For more information about how accessibility, usability, and inclusion overlap, please refer to the Web Accessibility Initiative's guidelines and definitions.
The United Nations (UN) recognizes that accessibility is a human right. In 2006, the UN adopted a landmark agreement – the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities–enshrining access to information and communications technologies as critical for persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life and society.
In 2024, the US Justice Department issued a final rule establishing specific standards for digital accessibility, including those based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure they abide with Title II of the American's with Disabilities Act.
If we don't make the web accessible, we risk excluding nearly a quarter of all adults from participating online.