Technology continues to shape how we live, work, and communicate, and accessibility has never been more important. Whether it’s a website, an app, a public space, or a workplace, accessibility ensures that everyone—regardless of their physical, sensory, or cognitive abilities—can engage equally. Yet, despite years of advocacy and growing awareness, accessibility is still too often treated as an afterthought, bolted on at the end rather than woven in from the start.
It’s time for that to change. Accessibility should be built into everything we create. It should be the standard, not the exception.
Accessibility is about making sure that people with a wide range of abilities and needs can use and benefit from products, services, and environments. This includes individuals with long-term disabilities, temporary impairments like an injury, or even situational limitations—like using a phone with one hand or navigating a website in poor lighting.
True accessibility removes barriers and promotes inclusion. It’s not just about meeting legal requirements; it’s about respect and equity. It’s about ensuring no one is excluded because of how something was designed.
When accessibility is left until the end of a project—or forgotten altogether—it leads to clunky, last-minute fixes that rarely work as well as they should. Trying to retrofit accessibility into a finished product is often more costly and time-consuming than simply designing with inclusion in mind from the beginning. And those fixes? They often miss the mark.
More importantly, treating accessibility as an afterthought sends a damaging message: that disabled people weren’t considered as part of the audience. It implies they are a niche group rather than an integral part of society. This mindset deepens exclusion and reinforces inequality.
Making accessibility the default is about more than ticking boxes. It means starting every project with the assumption that people’s needs vary widely. From the very first sketch or idea, inclusion should be part of the conversation.
This way of thinking is sometimes referred to as universal design—the idea that products and environments should be usable by everyone, without the need for special adaptations. This might include making websites navigable by keyboard, designing public buildings with step-free access, or ensuring digital documents can be read by screen readers.
It also means designing in a way that supports a wide range of neurodiversity and communication styles, not just visible disabilities.
In the UK, the law backs up the importance of accessibility. The Equality Act 2010 requires organisations to make reasonable adjustments so disabled people aren’t at a disadvantage. For the public sector, there are also specific regulations around the accessibility of websites and mobile apps.
But the legal obligation is only one part of the picture. Accessibility is a matter of basic fairness. When systems, services, and spaces are inaccessible, they exclude people from opportunities, limit independence, and reinforce social divides. It’s not just about compliance—it’s about ensuring everyone has the same chance to participate fully in life.
Some businesses and organisations still see accessibility as a burden—something that costs extra or slows down the process. But in reality, inclusive design often benefits everyone, not just those with disabilities.
By designing with accessibility in mind, you reach a much wider audience. In the UK, millions of people live with some form of disability. Around a quarter of the population, in fact. Globally, the number is more than a billion. Ignoring accessibility means cutting yourself off from a huge segment of the population.
Accessible design also improves the experience for all users. Think about subtitles on videos—they’re essential for deaf users, but also helpful in noisy environments or for those who prefer to watch silently. Clear language helps people with cognitive impairments, but also benefits those reading in a second language or on the go. Even features like voice control, once seen as niche, are now widely used by everyone thanks to smart devices.
Digital accessibility can also improve search engine rankings and website performance. Clean, semantic code and faster loading times not only help people using assistive technology but also support better SEO.
When businesses take accessibility seriously, it boosts their reputation and builds trust. Customers are more loyal to brands that are inclusive, and it reflects well on the culture of the company as a whole.
Some organisations are already leading the way by making accessibility a core part of what they do. Apple is a great example, with a wide range of accessibility features baked into its devices from the start—features like VoiceOver, zoom, and switch control. They’re not hidden away or hard to find; they’re available to every user, right out of the box.
The BBC is another leader in this space, offering a wide variety of accessibility tools including subtitles, audio descriptions, and sign language interpretation across many of its programmes. They’ve made accessibility part of their design and content culture.
Transport for London has made considerable improvements too, from step-free access in Underground stations to accessibility guides and support for neurodiverse passengers. These aren’t just one-off gestures—they reflect a commitment to thinking inclusively from the ground up.
Moving accessibility to the forefront of design and decision-making means changing the culture around how we build and deliver things. It starts with education. Everyone involved in the creation process—from developers and designers to writers and managers—should have some grounding in accessibility. It should be part of standard training, not specialist knowledge.
Crucially, the voices of disabled people must be included in the process. It’s not enough to design for people without consulting them. Listening to and involving the very people who are affected leads to better outcomes and avoids assumptions that often miss the mark.
There are already well-established frameworks and guidelines that can support this shift. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide a solid foundation for digital accessibility, and organisations like Microsoft and the UK Government Digital Service have developed inclusive design principles that can be applied more broadly.
Leadership matters too. When the people at the top of an organisation show that accessibility is a priority, it filters down into every level of decision-making. It signals that inclusion is part of the company’s values, not just a box to tick.
Accessibility should never be an afterthought. It should be a natural, default part of how we design, build, and communicate. By making accessibility a priority from the beginning, we create systems that are fairer, more usable, and more welcoming to everyone.
This isn’t about doing more work or spending more money—it’s about doing things differently. It’s about recognising that diversity is normal, not exceptional, and designing accordingly.
