Accessible Web Design

Accessibility isn’t a feature, an up-sell, a trend, or a passing phenomenon. And yet so many agencies treat it as such.

At 5forests, we take accessible web design seriously. We believe that all websites should provide the same level of usability, functionality, and enjoyment to all people, regardless of their level of capability. Our websites not only meet minimum standards, they exceed them. Because accessibility is not merely good for business, it’s just plain good.

Georgia O'Keeffe's tanned hands wrapped around a bleached horse skull.
Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe – Hands and Horse Skull, 1931 (adapted). Original from The Art Institute of Chicago.

Designed for real people

5forests takes a ground-up approach to accessible design driven by how real people use the web. We go beyond the basics of WCAG guidelines to ensure that a technical “pass” doesn’t interference with practical site use. And then we take it a step further, and help your inhouse team understand how they can make better decisions for a more inclusive web.

Tested by real people

Accessibility audits often rely on automated scans on your website to find what we call “low hanging fruit”. These can be very helpful to find and fix common mistakes, but they are far from comprehensive enough in the real world. We rely on the feedback from real users using real assistive technologies to enhance our web site builds.

Without accessibility overlays

You’ve seen these before: the “little man in a circle” icon floating on the bottom of a website. This is an accessibility overlay. At 5forests, we don’t believe in using these, and industry experts agree with our point of view. While overlays can be convenient as a temporary measure, they are not adequate for long term compliance, they do not help real people, and they do not make your website accessible.

We’re always improving

Accessibility is a moving target, and that’s not a bad thing. The web is always improving it’s understanding of assistive technologies, how they react to real world scenarios, how they can improve real user experience, and what guidelines need to be in place to ensure an equitable experience for all users. 5forests follows these changes and we work to improve our own offerings every single day.

Need help meeting accessibility requirements?