The Future of Design & Accessibility

Today, a well-designed and accessible website is a necessity. 

As your digital front door, you want your site to be welcoming and easy for everyone to navigate, creating a seamless and inclusive experience for all users.

That’s why, in the latest Crafted Future event presented by The Webby Awards and WP Engine, experts were asked to weigh in on the importance of accessible design in the modern age and what it means to design accessible digital experiences. 

Panelists included WP Engine Web UX Design Manager Nicholas Tilley, Bellweather Agency Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Louis Lee, and Marriott International Senior Interactive Designer for Content Marketing, Kia Delgado. The discussion was moderated by, The Webby Awards General Manager Nick Borenstein.

Read on to delve deeper into what the experts had to say about effective website design and the key elements of accessibility. 

Finding balance between accessibility and design

Accessibility is necessary in modern web design, but what’s easy to forget is that the foundational principles of accessibility overlap with the principles of great design. 

Lee called attention to this fact during the panel discussion.

“There’s a misconception that accessibility somehow compromises design, but if we really look at some of the baseline core principles of accessible design—strong contrast in colors, strong contrast in type sizes, clear hierarchy—those principles of accessibility are also principles of good design in general,” he said.

Other panelists agreed and took time to highlight the importance of finding the right balance between accessibility and design innovation.

Delgado used the Marriott Bonvoy Travel By Design site as an example of striking that balance. The intent of the Travel By Design site is to increase the end user’s awareness of Marriott’s portfolio of hotels. Marriott Bonvoy owns 30+ brands, so travelers might not even know they’re staying at a Marriott-owned property. 

“We were figuring out a way to balance the design because we have so many different properties that we’re featuring that have all these different looks, but how do we bring that into a space that feels cohesive while letting these images shine?” said Delgado.

“What we landed on was having a more minimal black and white design, so that the photos can really shine, the visuals come through, and the page is easy to navigate.”

The page design helps connect the dots between the Marriott brand and the concept of beautifully designed hotels. For their efforts, the editorial site was nominated for a Webby Award in the Best Homepage category for Websites and Mobile Sites, and it’s being featured in this year’s Crafted With Code showcase as an example of beautiful, accessible design.

Identifying the tools for success

One obstacle designers, especially those on small teams, tend to face when building accessible sites is finding the right tools to build and test their environments. Panelists shared both current tools for success as well as hopes for what the future could bring to further improve accessibility testing.

Some of the resources mentioned include Figma accessibility tools and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), as well as free content created by accessibility advocates on YouTube. At the end of the day, no matter what tools you use, the most important thing a designer can bring to the table is a willingness to understand the entirety of their audience.

“I think the greatest tool a designer has in their toolbox is empathy,” said Tilley. 

“So I would recommend reaching out to someone who is experiencing or has experienced a disability and educate yourself on what they struggle with so you can understand that perspective.”

When ideating on the potential for future tools, panelists shared the hope that Artificial Intelligence (AI) may hold the key to providing smaller teams with the resources they need to properly test for accessibility. 

“If you give small designers, small shops that don’t have access to user research, a tool that allows them to get that input from users with disabilities—if an AI tool like that could bring that power, could mimic the experiences of people with disabilities—it could bring about more education,” Tilley said.

AI: Accessibility assistant or adversary?

Speaking of artificial intelligence, panelists approached the subject with healthy doses of both skepticism and optimism. 

While AI technology has presented challenges with bias, panelists agreed that, if configured well, it could also be leveraged to aid in accessibility efforts.

“I think AI is one of those unavoidable topics, and it feels really relevant to accessibility. I have a lot of optimism about how AI-powered tools can really aid us as makers in terms of accessibility and web design.” said Lee.

Panelists also grappled with the conflict between the benefits that personalized experiences offer to users and the need to protect the data that makes personalization possible. They agreed that accessibility and personalization can exist at the same time as quality data privacy, and it all comes down to ethical site construction.

“Personalization is sometimes seen as the enemy, but I think it’s great,” said Tilley. 

“It just takes a certain amount of personal responsibility. You have to understand what you want to share and how to protect what you don’t want to share.”

Creating buy-in around accessible design

According to the World Health Organization, about 16% of the world’s population lives with some form of disability. In the United States alone, nearly one in four adults has a disability, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

These numbers reflect a substantial portion of potential website users who might face challenges navigating a poorly designed site.

So, when panelists were asked how they ensured stakeholders’ buy-in for accessible design before building or reimagining a site, they were very clear: accessibility is not optional.

“Accessibility is the law for businesses in their physical realm as well as their digital spaces. Quite literally, by law, you should be accessible. So if CEOs or managers at your company are unsure of it, frame the conversation around proofing yourself for now and in the future against potential litigation,” said Lee. 

“A light but professional threat might be a great way to start having that conversation,” he joked.

An accessible website isn’t just good practice—it’s good business. Studies have shown that businesses lose out on billions of dollars in potential revenue each year due to inaccessible websites. 

And because search engines prioritize accessibility by boosting the rankings of accessible sites, inaccessibility can cause your content to get lost in the shuffle. By taking accessibility into consideration from the jump, you’re more likely to succeed in whatever your digital goals may be.

“It’s a common misconception that accessibility is an add-on at the end—it’s that extra work that you do,” said Tilley. 

“But it’s our job as designers to educate people that it doesn’t have to be that. If we are taking into consideration accessibility in the very beginning—in the design phases, in the execution phases—it’s not that extra time. It’s built into the process. And the ROI is huge because you’re broadening your audience with a minimal amount of investment if you do it correctly.”

What is Crafted Future?

Crafted Future is a series of panel discussions featuring experts recognized in Crafted with Code, a collaborative showcase presented by The Webby Awards and WP Engine that highlights Webby-recognized website work and shares the stories behind the builds.  

Since 2019, the virtual event series has been exploring topics impacting the work of digital professionals as told by top-level experts in their fields. You can find all the previous Crafted Future discussions on The Webby Awards’ YouTube channel.

Craft your future with WP Engine

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