Building inclusive digital experiences that work for everyone.
Beyond Accessibility Compliance
Building That Work for Everyone Inclusive
Digital Experiences
The New Imperative
Every digital interaction tells a story about your organization.
It signals your priorities, your empathy, and the strength of
your brand promise. When a user visits your website or
opens your app, their first impression doesn’t just form
around design or speed — it’s about access. Can they use
it easily? Can they participate fully?
How your digital presence accommodates every user
defines its inclusivity. Accessibility is no longer an optional
feature or a post-launch adjustment — it’s a baseline
expectation. In a world where customer experience drives
growth, accessibility represents both a responsibility and a
strategic advantage. It shows who you’re designing for and
who you may be leaving behind.
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
1
Why Accessibility Matters Now
More than 1.3 billion people globally live with some form of disability – that’s one in six individuals. Yet, according to
recent studies, only about three percent of websites meet recognized accessibility standards. The result is a digital
divide that affects not only users but also the organizations trying to reach them.
Accessibility is both a moral and business imperative. It expands your potential audience and strengthens every aspect
of the digital experience. The numbers tell a clear story: people with disabilities collectively control trillions in disposable
income worldwide. When digital platforms aren’t designed inclusively, businesses lose access to that market.
But the opportunity goes beyond revenue. Accessibility enhances usability for every visitor. Features like structured
headings, clear contrast, and intuitive navigation benefit all users, improving engagement, conversions, and retention.
Search engines reward accessible sites with better rankings, and accessible design often translates into faster load
times and lower abandonment rates.
From a compliance perspective, the risk of inaction continues to grow. Legal frameworks like the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), the European Accessibility Act (EAA), and Canada’s Accessible Canada Act are setting new
standards for digital inclusivity. Lawsuits related to web accessibility have risen sharply, signaling that this is no longer
a niche concern — it’s a fundamental part of responsible digital operations.
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
2
The
of Inaccessibility Real Cost
When accessibility fails, the ripple effects extend far beyond usability. The immediate consequence may be
an abandoned transaction, but the long-term impact touches revenue, reputation, and retention.
•
Lost engagement: Users who can’t navigate easily simply leave — and rarely return.
•
Increased churn: Poor experiences drive users toward competitors who design inclusively.
•
Higher operational costs: Fixing accessibility after launch is far more expensive than building it in from the start.
•
Reputational damage: Accessibility issues are highly visible and can undermine brand credibility.
•
Legal exposure: Accessibility lawsuits and settlements have risen by double digits annually.
Conversely, accessible design reduces friction across every metric. It leads to longer sessions, higher
completion rates, and lower bounce rates. The brands that invest in accessibility early find that inclusion and
performance rise together.
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
3
From Obligation to Opportunity
For years, accessibility was viewed as an afterthought — something to review once the “real” work was done.
But digital leaders now see it differently. Accessibility is becoming central to how brands compete and connect.
Incorporating accessibility early brings measurable benefits:
•
Broader market reach: You connect with underserved communities and older adults who rely on accessible design.
•
Improved UX and conversions: A well-structured site benefits everyone, not just users with disabilities.
•
Lower long-term costs: Accessibility built in from the start prevents expensive retrofits and redesigns later.
•
Greater innovation: Designing within accessibility constraints often inspires creative, flexible solutions.
•
Enhanced brand equity: Inclusivity signals responsibility, empathy, and progress.
The shift from compliance to opportunity is redefining digital strategy. Accessibility drives efficiency, brand strength,
and product excellence. Businesses that lead here aren’t just avoiding penalties — they’re positioning themselves as
trusted and future-ready brands.
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
4
First Impressions Count
Before users even reach your homepage, they’re already forming opinions. A cookie consent banner, login prompt, or
newsletter pop-up might be their first interaction with your site. For someone using a screen reader or navigating with
voice commands, these moments can either welcome or block access entirely.
Overlapping modals, unlabeled buttons, or inaccessible CAPTCHAs create immediate frustration. For a keyboard-only
user, a consent banner that can’t be dismissed stops the journey before it starts. These micro-frictions lead to macro
losses in engagement and trust.
Building accessible first impressions mean:
•
Testing all interactive elements for keyboard navigation.
•
Ensuring modals trap focus correctly and can be closed easily.
•
Writing alt text and aria labels that describe intent, not decoration.
•
Keeping language plain, direct, and human.
•
Avoiding auto-dismiss timers or fast-expiring sessions.
Accessibility is the first handshake in a digital relationship — it sets the tone for everything that follows.
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
5
Designing for Cognitive Ease
Accessibility is as much about comprehension as it is about interaction. While designers often focus on visual, hearing,
and mobility or motor accessibility — including considerations like seizure safety, captions, and voice input — cognitive
accessibility is just as essential. Many barriers are mental rather than physical: complex language, dense layouts, or
unclear navigation can overload users, especially those with ADHD, dyslexia, or low vision.
Decision fatigue — the exhaustion that comes from making too many small choices — is a major accessibility issue that
often goes unnoticed. Overloaded filter menus, ambiguous buttons, and hidden navigation all contribute to user frustration.
Inclusive UX reduces cognitive load by designing for clarity and calm.
•
Simplify visual hierarchy and guide users through one clear focal point at a time.
•
Use progressive disclosure to reveal information as needed, not all at once.
•
Maintain predictable navigation and consistent labeling.
•
Provide feedback for every action and every error.
A cognitively inclusive interface doesn’t just make a site easier to use — it creates confidence. Confidence builds
trust, and trust drives conversion.
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
6
Embedding Accessibility in Design Systems
Sustainable accessibility begins with systems, not one-off fixes. When accessibility is baked into your design framework,
every new feature, page, or product inherits inclusivity by default.
A mature, accessible design system includes:
•
Reusable components: Accessible buttons, forms, and modals coded once and used consistently.
•
Tokenized colors and spacing: Ensuring contrast and legibility while maintaining brand consistency.
•
Accessible typography: Minimum font sizes, sufficient line spacing, and text resizing controls.
•
Interaction patterns: Defined states for focus, hover, and motion.
Embedding accessibility into your design system transforms it from an initiative to an ongoing discipline. It gives
teams confidence that accessibility scales along with innovation.
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
7
Continuous Testing and Maintenance
Accessibility isn’t static. As new content, plugins, or
technologies are introduced, compliance can degrade
silently. That’s why continuous testing is essential.
Best practices include:
•
Integrating automated checks in development pipelines.
•
Conducting quarterly manual reviews.
•
Testing with real users and assistive technologies.
•
Version-controlling accessibility tokens and design libraries.
Accessibility maturity is measured not at launch, but in the
ability to sustain inclusion through every release and iteration.
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
8
Governance, Culture, and
Accessibility Scaling
Technology alone doesn’t make an organization accessible — people do. Governance ensures that accessibility is a
shared responsibility across the organization.
A mature accessibility culture includes:
•
Leadership advocacy: Executives model inclusion as part of quality.
•
Defined ownership: Roles span design, engineering, marketing, and compliance.
•
Education and enablement: Ongoing training and accessible playbooks.
•
Automation: Integrating checks and testing across pipelines.
•
Feedback loops: Using input from real users with disabilities to drive improvement.
Accessibility at scale isn’t about perfection – it’s about continuous progress and shared accountability.
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
9
Measuring Success
You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Accessibility metrics bring visibility and accountability.
Key indicators include:
•
Compliance benchmarks: Percentage of applicable WCAG 2.2 criteria met at the targeted conformance level
(A, AA, or AAA). For example, if a product meets 38 of 40 success criteria at Level AA, it achieves a 95% compliance rate.
•
Defect reduction: Decline in accessibility issues over development cycles.
•
User impact: Completion rates, session time, and satisfaction among assistive technology users.
•
Cultural maturity: Number of trained staff, accessibility champions, and internal advocacy programs.
•
Business outcomes: Correlation between accessibility enhancements and engagement or revenue gains.
High-performing organizations use dashboards to track accessibility across products, not projects. This
transparency creates momentum and sustains progress.
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
10
Accessibility and AI
AI offers enormous potential for accessibility — and real risks if implemented carelessly.
Automated captioning, predictive text, and voice interfaces already make digital environments more inclusive.
AI-driven accessibility testing tools can identify common issues at scale. But algorithms are only as inclusive as the
data behind them.
When AI models overlook users with disabilities, personalization can unintentionally exclude. For example,
recommendation systems might suppress accessible versions of content if they don’t generate as many clicks.
To align AI with accessibility:
•
Train models on diverse user data and assistive tech interactions.
•
Keep accessibility features visible and controllable by users.
•
Regularly audit AI-driven experiences for bias, accuracy, and unintended exclusion – for example, checking automated
captions or alt text for errors that could impact comprehension.
•
Combine automation with human review to ensure real-world usability.
AI should amplify inclusion, not replace empathy. When used responsibly, it accelerates accessibility progress across
massive digital ecosystems.
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
11
Accessibility as a Driver of Digital Transformation
Accessibility and digital transformation share the same goal: creating better experiences for everyone.
As companies modernize legacy platforms or migrate to composable architectures, accessibility naturally becomes
part of the blueprint. Cloud scalability, modular codebases, and modern design tools make inclusive design more
achievable than ever.
Accessibility enhances every transformation outcome:
•
Operational efficiency: Cleaner, more standardized code.
•
Customer experience: Seamless engagement across devices and contexts.
•
Compliance: Reduced exposure to risk through built-in conformance.
•
Reputation: Demonstrated leadership in ethical and inclusive design.
Accessibility isn’t a feature — it’s proof that transformation is working.
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
12
The
Approach Concord
Concord helps organizations make accessibility actionable. Our framework blends human-centered design,
engineering discipline, and business strategy to create digital experiences that serve everyone.
1
Discovery and Planning
We align on goals, audiences, and success metrics. Together, we define your accessibility priorities and determine where the biggest impact lies.
Audit and Analysis
2
Through automated and manual testing, we uncover usability gaps across your most important user journeys.
Recommendations and Roadmap
3
Findings are transformed into actionable insights — clear priorities, from quick fixes to systemic improvements.
Implementation and Enablement
4
We partner with your teams to embed accessibility in design systems, workflows, and governance models.
5
Continuous Improvement
We help you measure success, evolve standards, and build a culture of accessibility across your organization.
With Concord, accessibility becomes a long-term advantage — one that scales alongside innovation.
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
13
Looking Ahead
Digital accessibility is entering a new era. Regulation is tightening,
expectations are rising, and technology is evolving rapidly. But at its
heart, accessibility remains human. It’s about empathy, clarity, and
design that reflects the full spectrum of human experience.
Accessibility isn’t about perfection; it’s progress. The organizations that
commit will build stronger brands, more loyal customers, and a digital
presence that works for everyone.
At Concord, we help you turn accessibility into a competitive advantage.
By combining technology, design, and human insight, we deliver digital
experiences that provide inclusion, trust, and performance.
Take the next step toward true inclusivity by scheduling your
Accessibility Audit today.
Contact Us
Concord | concordusa.com
952-241-1090
info@concordusa.com
Accessibility Beyond Compliance
14
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15Powered by FlippingBook