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Web Accessibility for the Enterprise

Making your website more accessible for everyone will not only make you a hero in users eyes, but it will also reduce your legal risk, increase findability on search, improve your user experience, provide you with a competitive edge, and lower your costs. Despite the benefits, many enterprise struggle with implementing sustainable web accessibility programs. This resource summarizes the steps to take to make web accessibility a key competency and practice within your company.

01. Understanding the Web Accessibility Challenge

Many site owners, designers, and developers are not aware of what it feels like to not be able to view website content or use functionality. Step into the shoes of a person that experiences web accessibility issues by exploring these 4 areas.
Learn about common disabilities

Learn about common assistive technologies
Learn about alternative browsing preferences
Consider combinations and intersections

02. Learn About Web Accessibility and the Law

Web accessibility lawsuits are on the rise, but most corporations don’t even understand the law and how it applies to them. Here are 4 places to start learning more about your legal responsibilities.
Research Title III of the American’s with Disabilities Act
Study the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
Check out old and new accessibility lawsuits
Stay abreast of emerging regulations

03. Establish an Enterprise Web Accessibility Program

When you have multiple internal and external websites and applications within your organization, you need a formal program for ensuring accessibility compliance. The following actions will help you create – and maintain – a solid accessibility policy.
Develop an accessibility policy
Develop accessibility standards
Identify and prioritize platforms

04. Establish an Enterprise Web Accessibility Team

In order for accessibility to rise to the top of the priority list, key members of your organization need to be responsible promoting, supporting, and/or implementing new accessibility policies and standards.
Appoint an accessibility champion
Appoint accessibility sponsors and leaders
Outline change targets

05. Establish Enterprise Web Accessibility Processes

Independently, a web accessibility program and team won’t solve your enterprise accessibility challenges. For that, you’ll need a set of processes and tools for identifying and correcting web accessibility issues on an ongoing basis.
Establish your testing processes, tools, and roles & responsibilities
Establish a process for evaluating platforms and resolving issues
Establish process for documenting remediation actions
Establish a process for tracking web accessibility health for the enterprise

06. Implement a Communication & Training Plan

Build awareness of the accessibility challenge and the new enterprise program across key stakeholders and change targets. Where appropriate, establish training and development programs to help key team members gain skills needed to understand standards, identify issues, and implement fixes.
Awareness & Education for the Enterprise
Training for Product Managers and Site Owners
Training for UX Designers
Training for Developers & Testers

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