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Why is Accessibility Training Important?

Posted June 20, 2024

AudioEye

Posted June 20, 2024

A female teacher using a pointer to point to a stylized web browser with a large lightbulb with a graduation hat on top and the accessibility symbol in the middle.
A female teacher using a pointer to point to a stylized web browser with a large lightbulb with a graduation hat on top and the accessibility symbol in the middle.

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Accessibility training ensures your team has the knowledge and skills needed to create accessible, inclusive digital experiences for individuals with disabilities. Learn what else accessibility training can provide below.

Roughly 16% of the world’s population has some sort of disability, and that number continues to rise. In response, organizations are increasing their focus on creating accessible digital content. A key part of this effort is digital accessibility training. 

Accessibility training helps organizations comply with accessibility requirements and improves the user experience for individuals with disabilities. Additionally, it helps businesses expand their customer base and demonstrates their commitment to social responsibility. All this mitigates potential legal action and cultivates a culture of inclusivity. 

Avoiding legal risk and increasing inclusivity is just the beginning of what accessibility training can do for businesses. Below, we’ll delve into more of the benefits of accessibility training and why it’s so crucial for companies to invest in it.

Eight Benefits of Accessibility Training

Accessibility training isn’t just about compliance — it’s about creating inclusive digital environments where all individuals can fully participate. The importance of accessibility training goes far beyond legal protection. It helps team members create a better user experience, boost brand reputation, and build a more inclusive organizational culture. 

Here’s what else accessibility initiatives and  training can offer:

1. Avoid Legal Action

Ensuring your employees understand accessibility standards and practices helps you reduce the risk of legal action related to accessibility laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Taking a proactive approach safeguards against potential lawsuits and helps create a culture of accessibility among your team.

2. Improves the Customer Experience

One of the primary purposes of accessibility training is to teach individuals how to design and develop digital content that’s more accessible and navigable for all users — particularly those with disabilities. Plus, more accessible content results in a better user experience, less frustration, and more customer loyalty.

3. Makes the Digital Realm More User-Friendly

Accessibility training ensures that digital content — including web pages, electronic documents, mobile apps, and multimedia content — is accessible to individuals with disabilities. It teaches digital content creators to create content that follows the WCAG POUR principles, which ensure that content is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. This ultimately results in a more user-friendly digital realm where all users can fully participate.

4. Ensures Equal Access for All

Accessibility training empowers organizations to break down barriers that prevent individuals with disabilities from fully participating in the digital world. By removing those barriers, individuals with disabilities can easily access online content and pursue their educational, professional, and personal goals.

5. Increases Market Reach

The disability community is largely underserved. By following the accessibility standards laid out in accessible learning programs, organizations can expand their reach into the disability community. This can help you grow your customer base and open the door to new revenue opportunities.

6. Improves Brand Image

A commitment to accessibility improves your organization’s reputation and brand image. Put simply, it shows your commitment to social responsibility, ethics, and a genuine concern for your community and customers. With today’s customers valuing organizations that prioritize inclusivity and accessibility, you’re in a better position to attract, win, and retain customers.

7. Increases Understanding Around Disabilities

Accessibility training fosters empathy and understanding among your employees, which results in better communication and interaction with the disability community. This awareness enhances Accessibility training fosters empathy and understanding among your employees, which results in better communication and interaction with the disability community. This awareness enhances customer service and promotes a respectful, empathic culture within your organization.

8. Creates a Culture of Accessibility and Inclusivity

Embedding accessibility principles into your organization ensures accessibility is a fundamental part of your culture. Even as digital accessibility laws and standards change, your employees have the knowledge and skills needed to maintain accessibility and continue to provide an accessible, inclusive digital experience.

A laptop with an accessibility symbol in the upper-right corner and a volume symbol in the upper-left corner.

What to Look for in Accessibility Training Courses

As you’re looking at training courses, prioritize programs that provide a comprehensive understanding of digital and website accessibility, as this ensures employees have the knowledge needed to create inclusive digital experiences. At a minimum, accessibility courses should cover the following topics:

  • Introduction to digital accessibility: Training courses should start with an introduction to digital accessibility. Learners should get an insight into the industry and landscape and review common challenges around digital accessibility.
  • Overview of digital accessibility laws: Next, training courses should cover accessibility regulations, including the ADA, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and WCAG. Understanding these laws ensures learners understand the legal requirements and standards that govern the industry.
  • Overview of assistive technologies: This section should provide learners with an understanding of the various types of assistive technologies used by individuals with disabilities to navigate the web. This includes screen readers, magnifiers, speech recognition software, and keyboard navigation techniques. Knowing how these devices work is critical for designing and building accessible interfaces.
  • Inclusive design principles: Arguably, the most important part of accessibility training involves teaching users about accessible design principles. This includes teaching best practices such as designing for flexibility, clarity, and user control and incorporating accessibility features such as alt text, proper color contrast, and accessible navigation structures.

There are a few other things to keep in mind about accessibility training programs. Look for accessibility training that follows the accessibility standards included in WCAG 2.0 at minimum. Anything older than version 2.0 is outdated and doesn’t address modern accessibility challenges. You’ll also want to look at the experience and knowledge of course instructors. Be sure instructors have significant experience in digital accessibility and have practical, hands-on experience in the industry.

Enhance Organizational Accessibility and Reach with Accessibility Training from AudioEye

Implementing accessibility training ensures that your digital content creators have the knowledge and skills needed to create accessible websites and other digital content. This not only helps you avoid potential legal consequences, but it also improves the user experience, expands your market reach, and increases your brand reputation. 

At AudioEye, our Accessibility Training course provides you with all the skills and knowledge needed to create accessible digital content. Our training starts with accessibility awareness and covers common accessibility barriers and disability categories. We then move into accessibility best practices and universal design principles before ending with an in-depth discussion on accessibility laws. With a thorough understanding of digital accessibility, you can better serve the disability community and enhance inclusivity in the online world.

Want to learn more about AudioEye’s accessibility training? Contact us to learn more.

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