Understanding Web Accessibility from A to AAA
Great digital experiences should be available to everyone regardless of ability. Web accessibility isn’t just a checkbox for us. It’s a core part of how we build websites that serve people and deliver results. We live in a digital world – so much of access to information, services, and opportunities increasingly depends on the web. It is critical that everyone can navigate and use websites easily, no matter who they are and regardless of ability.
When we prioritize accessibility, we’re not just following best practices; we’re making the internet more inclusive, equitable, and human-centered.
What Is Web Accessibility, Anyway?
Web accessibility means designing and developing websites in a way that ensures people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with them. That includes users who are blind, deaf, or have motor or cognitive disabilities. Frankly – it benefits all users by improving clarity and usability.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines outline best practices to make websites accessible. These guidelines are organized into three levels of compliance: A, AA, and AAA.
Level A is the minimum level of accessibility. It addresses the most basic barriers. For example, making sure images have alt text or that keyboard-only navigation is possible.
Level AA is the recommended standard for most websites. It covers a wider range of issues, such as color contrast, consistent navigation, and descriptive form labels. AA compliance ensures a site is usable by a much broader audience without drastically altering visual design.
Level AAA is the highest level of accessibility. It includes additional guidelines like sign language interpretation for videos or enhanced navigation structures. While AAA is ideal, it’s not always practical for every site, especially those with complex interactive features.
The NG Media Approach
Level AA is widely considered the standard for most websites, and it’s the level we typically aim for when designing our clients’ sites. It addresses a broad range of accessibility needs while maintaining creative freedom in layout and branding. Meeting Level AA means your site has sufficient color contrast for users with visual impairments, and well-structured content with descriptive headings, labels, and error messages that work seamlessly with screen readers. It also ensures that all interactive elements are accessible without a mouse and avoids content that could cause distractions or seizures, like flashing animations. By building to AA standards, we create websites that are not only inclusive but also more user-friendly, legally sound, and optimized for search engines.
For government clients or public-facing platforms, we often recommend going for Level AAA compliance where possible, especially when inclusivity is a legal or ethical mandate. These projects involve deeper collaboration with accessibility consultants and user testers to meet the highest benchmarks. We work closely with our clients to achieve the level of accessibility they need to achieve their goals.
Accessibility is a living, breathing part of your digital strategy. It changes with the times as new technology comes along, and we keep a close eye on all the latest. It is also a reflection of your values. We’re here to help you put those values into action.
Want to talk about how accessible your site is now or how we can help make it better? Let’s chat.
