Quick Links“Digital accessibility refers to the practice of designing and developing digital content, tools, and technologies in a way that ensures equal access and usability for all individuals, including those with disabilities. It aims to eliminate barriers that could prevent people with disabilities from effectively using and interacting with digital platforms, websites, applications, documents, and other online resources.”
The chatbot also provided a brief summary of the key elements in digital accessibility, including Web Accessibility, Document Accessibility (including PDFs), User Interface Design, Multimedia Accessibility, Keyboard Accessibility, Assistive Technologies, Mobile Accessibility, Compliance with Accessibility Standards (such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), and Testing & Evaluation.
ChatGPT responded with a list of steps that one can take in order to improve accessibility. These steps include:
Familiarize yourself with the WCAG published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). WCAG provides a comprehensive set of guidelines for creating accessible web content. Aim for compliance with at least the Level AA criteria.
Include descriptive alternative text for all images on your website. This allows screen readers to convey the content of images to users who are visually impaired.
Use proper HTML elements to structure your content. Headings, lists, and semantic elements like <nav>, <main>, and <article> help screen readers and other assistive technologies understand the organization of your content.
Ensure that all interactive elements, such as links, buttons, and form fields, can be accessed and activated using keyboard navigation alone. Test your website's usability without a mouse.
Choose color combinations that provide sufficient contrast between text and background. This benefits users with visual impairments or color blindness. There are tools available to check color contrast ratios.
Provide captions, subtitles, and audio descriptions for videos and audio content. This makes multimedia content accessible to users who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as those who are visually impaired.
Include clear and concise labels for form fields, and ensure that form controls have descriptive names. Use proper fieldset and legend elements to group related form elements.
Ensure that interactive elements have visible focus indicators. This helps users who navigate using keyboards or other input devices.
Create a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes and devices. This benefits users who may access your website on various devices.
Allow users to resize text without affecting the layout or functionality of your website. Avoid using fixed font sizes.
Use meaningful and descriptive link text that makes sense even when read out of context. Avoid using vague terms like "click here".
Regularly test your website with assistive technologies, such as screen readers, and gather feedback from users with disabilities. This helps identify and address accessibility issues.
Use accessibility plugins and tools to help automate certain checks and improvements. However, manual testing and validation are crucial.
Make sure your design and development teams are aware of accessibility best practices and the importance of designing with inclusivity in mind.
Accessibility is an ongoing effort. Regularly review and update your website to address new accessibility challenges and to keep up with evolving guidelines and standards.
The final question was going to be the hardest. Now that ChatGPT had a broad understanding of digital accessibility, I wanted to put its knowledge to the test. Using the Vially website, I asked the chatbot my final question.
“I'm sorry, but I cannot access external websites or browse the internet, so I am unable to directly evaluate the accessibility of specific websites. However, I can guide you on how to assess the accessibility of a website using various tools and techniques.”
ChatGPT does not have the power to access the internet at the moment (maybe a good thing?) or access external websites. One can only imagine the legal implications and breach of GDPR ChatGPT could encounter if it had this ability, however as AI evolves and technology is improved upon in the future, who knows what it will be capable of?
Overall, ChatGPT’s knowledge on digital accessibility was good. It provided a broad range of areas that can be taken to make sure your website is digitally accessible and also included information that not everyone would be familiar with such as the WCAG, use of screen readers and form accessibility. Its inability to analyse a website’s accessibility did not come as a shock but as a comfort in knowing that certain jobs cannot be replaced by machines. Even if they are, the job may not be done correctly, according to requirements or data may be inaccurate or inconsistent, no matter how much faster the computer can produce work compared to a human.
