Getting started with accessibility

Since the announcement of the new Accessibility Improvement Act (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetzes, short BFSG), which comes into force on June 28, 2025, the topic of accessibility has been on everyone's agenda. Anyone looking into it for the first time will quickly come across terms such as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, conformity guidelines and the European Accessibility Act, which initially seem intimidating and suggest a lot of effort. But what sounds complicated and time-consuming doesn't have to be: A considerable improvement can be achieved by implementing just a few basic measures.

A person stands in front of a path that leads through a green mountain range with many colorful plants and reaches to the horizon, flooded with sunlight.

Why is accessibility important?

The most obvious answer is: because it is the right thing to do and we want to live in a world in which no one is disadvantaged. But if that's not enough, there are around one billion people with a disability worldwide. That means one billion potential users, many of whom are currently excluded. In addition, people without disabilities often also benefit from accessible designs and therefore a better user experience.

People who have misplaced their reading glasses or have difficulty using an application on their cell phone in bright sunlight because the contrast is not sufficient or the font is too small benefit from accessible applications just as much as people with permanent disabilities. It must also be taken into account that not every situation offers the best conditions. Even someone with perfect hearing will not understand the announcement on the train if it is full of noisy schoolchildren.

A person stands in the middle of a clearing from which many paths lead off in a star shape. The landscape is a colorful forest with many colorful plants.

But how to start?

Once the first step has been taken and there is a conviction that accessibility should be considered in the development of digital products, the question arises: where do you start? The most basic measures already relate to the choice of font, the optimization of contrasts and the use of alternative texts. One factor that is often underestimated can significantly influence a typeface in terms of legibility and therefore user experience - the right choice of font. In typography, there are so-called display and reading fonts. Display fonts are usually more decorative and expressive, which makes them stand out, but also more difficult to read. Especially in small sizes or long texts, they make it difficult to concentrate on reading. They should therefore only be used specifically as a decorative element or for large headlines. Reading fonts should therefore be used for continuous text. There is now also a large selection that is directly screen-optimized and has been adapted for this in terms of x-height, punch, spacing and stroke width contrast.

Curious? Read more now.

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