Barrier-free web - accessibility for everyone

The WZG - Web Accessibility Act - is a federal law which stipulates that the design of official websites and mobile applications must be carried out in such a way that access is unrestricted for all users Access for all users is unrestricted is unrestricted.
But while the law applies to public authorities and the like, we can also participate in it.
Because accessibility benefits us all!
In addition, the Federal Disability Equality Act (BGStG) - applies to both the public and private sectors and aims to ensure that people with disabilities can equal participation in life in society in society.

According to the provisions of the Act, disproportionate barriers can constitute discrimination and even result in claims for damages. In digital life, this applies to websites, web stores and apps.
Whether a website constitutes a barrier is determined as part of a reasonableness test. For example, the impact of the disadvantage to the person concerned is examined.

• What is meant by accessibility on the web?

In principle, the internet is designed to be accessible to all people. It doesn't matter where these people come from, what language they speak, what their social background is, and so on.
But a website is only only really accessible and usable for everyonewhen limitations in seeing, hearing, moving or processing information do not have a negative impact do not have a negative impact.

Such barriers can be

Text with low contrast and size.

People with a visual impairment can find it difficult to recognize texts or form fields if they only stand out slightly from the background or if the font is too small.

People who are deaf or hard of hearing cannot use videos if they do not contain subtitles.

Blind people cannot use websites properly if images, forms and buttons are not described in text.

• How can I achieve accessibility for my website?

Give your images alt tags
Alt tags are short descriptions of images used on the website. Normally we never see these descriptions. But site visitors who use screen readers rely on them to know what is on the image.
A good alt tag is a short description that describes the image in detail.
An example would be a drawn picture of children playing in a playground. A good alt tag here would be "an illustration of children laughing and playing together on the swings of a playground." -less good would be: "Children playing."
However, alt tags are not only used by people with visual impairments. Because well-crafted tags also improve the SEO of the page, enabling more traffic and ultimately more conversions!
This also includes HTML tags - the so-called semantic html tags.
As soon as semantic tags are added to the website, browsers also know what the meaning of a page and its content is. This clarity is also communicated to search engines to ensure that the right pages are delivered for the right search queries.
The term semantics comes from linguistics and refers to the study of meaning. The aim is to give the web more and more context that goes beyond the mere linking of hyperlinks and reveals the meaning of the content of websites for humans and machines. This is particularly important for people who are dependent on a screen reader, as these screen readers "understand" the related text blocks and images and can thus reproduce the website clearly and correctly.

Make the navigation simple and consistent
The navigation should look the same on every page - this keeps it clear and easy to use.
Icons should not be too similar, as this can lead to confusion.
The menu navigation should be kept as simple and concrete as possible, the sitemap should be immediately clear.

Avoid content that can cause physical reactions
Some people are susceptible to rapidly flashing lights and moving patterns - avoid these to make the website safe for every user. People with epilepsy are otherwise at high risk.

Good readability
A website should be designed in such a way that people with impaired vision can use it without restrictions.
Basically, the text should be kept like a book. 16px is generally a good size for continuous text.
However, a good, legible font and good contrast are much more important than the font size. Sans serif fonts are easier to read and therefore the better choice for accessibility - as recommended by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Reach more customers and more satisfaction
When a website is designed to be accessible, it reaches a wider target group and therefore more potential customers. In a society that is becoming older and more diverse, an accessible Internet is the most important basis for successful communication.
Search engines also reward accessibility on the web, which results in higher search engine rankings. This means that potential customers find the website even faster. It is therefore worth investing even more in an accessible website.