How do I prevent accessibility decay?

Completing an accessibility remediation project is a major accomplishment – congratulations on this important milestone! You're also in an excellent position to think ahead about what comes next.

Unless specific steps are taken to prevent decay, a website or web app’s accessibility often declines over time. This decline can have a number of causes. New accessibility barriers can be unintentionally introduced with updated content and functions as team members change, or simply because accessibility is no longer top of mind. Even untouched content can become relatively less accessible as technologies evolve, accessibility guidelines change, or accessibility techniques improve.

The following strategies can help maintain strong accessibility and promote a better experience for all users:

• Include web accessibility in organizational goals and metrics
• Invest in accessibility monitoring tools and support
• Conduct regularly scheduled accessibility review and testing that includes people with disabilities
• Incorporate accessibility checks and practices throughout the production lifecycle of new features and content
• Participate in up-to-date accessibility training

Maintaining accessibility is almost always less expensive and time intensive than conducting major accessibility overhauls. Ready to get started? Accessible Web offers services and support for each of these strategies to prevent accessibility decay – let’s have a conversation today.