Digital disabilitiy– What it is?

Digital disability is an often-overlooked issue that affects many people in their interaction with digital technologies. This phenomenon refers to the difficulties encountered by individuals, due to disabilities (such as sensory, motor, cognitive, etc.), in accessing services, websites, or digital applications. These barriers can create invisible obstacles that exclude users from essential digital experiences in today’s world.

I. What Is digital disability?

The term “digital disability” refers to the obstacles and difficulties faced by people with disabilities when using digital technologies, such as websites, mobile apps, online platforms, or software. There are several types of digital accessibility challenges, including:

1. Visual disabilities: People who are blind or have low vision face difficulties interacting with interfaces that are not adapted, such as images without text descriptions or poorly contrasted colors.
2. Auditory disabilities: Deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals may struggle with videos or audio content that lack subtitles or alternative modes of communication.
3. Motor disabilities: Individuals with physical disabilities (e.g., motor or coordination difficulties) can face challenges navigating websites that require complex mouse or keyboard actions.
4. Cognitive disabilities: Users with cognitive disorders, such as dyslexia or autism spectrum disorders, may find it difficult to understand or navigate overly complex or unintuitive interfaces.
5. Neurological disabilities: People with neurological conditions, such as memory or concentration issues, may struggle to interact with interfaces that are not adapted to their needs.

Digital accessibility aims to adapt digital tools, websites, and services to ensure they are usable by everyone, regardless of disability. This adaptation is crucial not only for individuals with disabilities but also for ensuring equal access to information and services in an increasingly digital world.

II. The importance of digital accessibility

Digital accessibility is not just a legal obligation in many countries—it is also a major social issue. Allowing all people, including those with disabilities, to have equal access to digital resources is an essential pillar of social inclusion and digital citizenship. Here’s why digital accessibility is important:

1. Compliance with legal standards In many countries, laws and regulations require businesses to make their digital platforms and content accessible. For example, in Europe, the NIS2 Directive and the Accessibility Act require strict standards for the accessibility of websites and applications.
2. Expanding your target audience By making your digital tools accessible, you reach a larger audience. The market of people with disabilities represents a significant portion of the population, and ensuring the accessibility of your services allows you to tap into this valuable customer base.
3. Improving user experience for all Digital accessibility benefits not only people with disabilities but also improves the overall user experience. Simplified navigation or adjusted interfaces can make services more user-friendly and pleasant for everyone.
4. Social responsibility and ethical commitment Digital accessibility demonstrates a company’s commitment to social responsibility. Organizations that take steps to provide an inclusive experience send a strong message about their values of solidarity and inclusivity.

III. How FreewayTeam supports you with digital accessibility audits

FreewayTeam helps businesses assess and improve the accessibility of their digital platforms through comprehensive digital accessibility audits. These audits allow you to identify friction points, obstacles, and propose practical solutions to improve the user experience for people with disabilities. Here’s how FreewayTeam supports you every step of the way:

1. Evaluation of current accessibility

During an accessibility audit, FreewayTeam analyzes all the digital tools used by your company: websites, mobile apps, online platforms, etc. This analysis is based on WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), which define best practices for accessibility. We evaluate how well your digital tools comply with these standards.

2. Identification of accessibility Iissues

The audit identifies specific obstacles faced by users with disabilities:

• • Missing alternative text for images
• • Lack of subtitles or transcriptions for video and audio content
• • Complex navigation for users with motor disabilities
• • Contrasts and readability issues for people with visual impairments
• • Content simplification issues for individuals with cognitive disabilities

These issues are detected through manual and automated tests, as well as interviews with users with different disabilities.

3. Recommendations for improvements

Based on the audit results, FreewayTeam offers actionable recommendations to improve the accessibility of your digital platforms. This may include:

• • Adding assistive features (such as high-contrast mode, screen reader support, etc.)
• • Simplifying content structures to enhance navigation and understanding
• • Implementing subtitles and transcriptions for multimedia content
• • Conducting user tests with individuals with disabilities to ensure the effectiveness of adjustments

4. Implementation support

FreewayTeam doesn’t stop at providing recommendations; we also support you in implementing the necessary improvements, working closely with your technical, design, and development teams. We ensure that the adjustments made truly meet the needs of users and comply with accessibility standards.

5. Training and awareness

FreewayTeam offers training sessions for your teams to raise awareness about digital accessibility issues and teach best practices to incorporate into their daily work. This ensures that accessibility becomes a long-term priority for your organization and helps your team maintain accessible digital services moving forward.

IV. Conclusion: digital accessibility, an essential issue for inclusion

Digital accessibility is not just a matter of legal compliance—it’s a fundamental issue of inclusion and social responsibility. By ensuring that your digital tools are accessible to all people, regardless of disability, you contribute to building a more inclusive and equitable digital environment. Additionally, it allows you to reach a larger audience, retain your users, and improve the overall experience of your digital services.

With FreewayTeam’s support, you can conduct a thorough audit of your platforms’ accessibility and implement effective solutions to improve the inclusivity of your digital services. We guide you through every stage of the audit, from analyzing issues to implementing solutions, ensuring an optimal and accessible user experience for everyone.

V. Recommendations

1. 1. Conduct a digital accessibility audit of your platforms to identify existing barriers.
2. 2. Implement the recommendations to make your digital tools more accessible to all users.
3. 3. Raise awareness and train your teams on accessibility issues and best practices.
4. 4. Engage FreewayTeam for personalized support and follow-up in enhancing digital accessibility.

With FreewayTeam, you can ensure the accessibility of your digital services and provide an inclusive and equitable experience for all your users.