For some people with various kinds of disabilities, standard computing technologies such as keyboards, monitors, and computer mice can be difficult or impossible to operate and to use to navigate the digital world. Fortunately, there are alternative methods that can help, known as assistive technologies, for using a computer or browsing the web. While the term “assistive technology” can apply to any device used to make tasks possible or easier ―  such as wheelchairs and hearing aids ― this article will discuss only those assistive technologies used to supplement or replace computing devices.

“Accessible travel” is the concept that all people — including people with vision, hearing, mobility, and cognitive impairments — should be able to do what they want to do and go where they want to go without facing unnecessary barriers, physical or digital, that prevent them from enjoying their travel and tourism experiences to the fullest capacity possible.

May 16, 2019 marks the eighth Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). To help spread awareness of the importance of accessible digital and web experiences for all, we're highlighting 50 facts. The time for accessibility is now.

In the digital realm, the terms accessibility, usability, and inclusion often overlap, which can lead to these terms being confused. It’s not surprising to find the boundaries between these three concepts blurred because they can inform and improve one another — where lines can be drawn can be more a matter of opinion and interpretation is relative.

This month, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) turned 20 years old. WCAG version 1.0 was published on May 5, 1999 and was a total game-changer for web accessibility. Today, WCAG version 2.1 is cemented as the gold standard in accessibility. So, how did we get here?

When building a website, many designers and developers adhere to the principle of keeping everything as simple as possible, only as complex as it needs to be. This is usually a good practice for web design itself — but what about the text on your web pages?

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 6.6 million people in the U.S. have a cognitive disability that affects their memory, concentration, or decision-making. Making the language of your website more accessible is a valuable step in improving the experience for people with disabilities.

National Life Insurance Day is observed every year on May 2, the anniversary of life insurance becoming available in the United States. This year, let's take the celebration a step further by committing to make life insurance websites and tools accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities.

Colors are an essential feature of web design and how they're used is a core consideration of a website's or app's accessibility. A term you may have heard is "color contrast," but if you aren't quite sure what that means, we have you covered.

For companies in the retail industry, they should make sure to especially consider whether:

• Their online presence is tied to a physical location.
• Their e-commerce functions are accessible to people with disabilities.
• They are maximizing SEO and website traffic through accessibility.
• Their emails, social media, and landing pages are also accessible.
• They are reaching every customer they could or excluding people because of the inaccessibility of their website or app.

Some people think that creating an accessible website limits design and creativity; however, prioritizing accessibility can inspire beautiful and creative site design. Using color and images thoughtfully, for example, can make your site stand out. Here are 4 tips for creative site design with accessibility in mind.

The most obvious benefit of web accessibility is that it helps people with disabilities enjoy your website’s content, products, and services. However, the advantages of web accessibility aren’t limited to their immediate impact for people with disabilities — and some of them may surprise you.

Here are 6 additional benefits of web accessibility for your organization, your employees, and your customers.

Creating accessible videos can drastically broaden their reach and usability. Unfortunately an often-overlooked part of video production, accessibility doesn't have to add significant time or cost, especially when considered from the beginning. Everyone benefits from accessible videos. Here are the steps to creating an accessible video.

From breaking news videos to audiobooks, multimedia content is increasingly important to people’s activities online - and by 2021, 80 percent of the world’s internet traffic will be video. Unfortunately, when that content isn't made to be accessible, much of it could be lost to people with hearing disabilities. If you need or want to make adjustments to your web browsing experience, check out these tips.

Laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require that website content be made accessible to people with disabilities. Unfortunately, most websites don't currently meet those standards — and even when websites do comply with standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), you still may require or prefer modifications to help. If you have trouble seeing or reading the material on websites, there are some actions you can take to improve your experience and make it easier.

This is part one in a five-part series about adjusting your web browsing experience to better-suit your needs.

Not all web accessibility testing is created equal, and not all of it needs to take a lot of time and money. In fact, you can start to get a sense of the condition of your website almost immediately using some of these tools and methods. Let's get started.

This is the fifth and final piece of our series dedicated to sharing a bit of what we look for when testing websites and apps to identify the accessibility barriers people with certain disability types may experience. Take a peek at how we test for the impact of speech disabilities.

Series: 3 of 5. This article is part of a five-part series that highlights some of what we look for when testing websites and apps to identify the accessibility barriers people with certain disability types may experience. Check out how we test for cognitive, learning, and neurological disabilities.

Over 500 million Tweets are sent each day, representing roughly 347,000 chances each minute to reach the masses or to exclude large groups of people through inaccessible or difficult-to-understand content. Here are some tips to help create more accessible Twitter content.

The sooner you incorporate accessibility into your website and app plans, the easier it will be to create accessible experiences for your customers. So, what if your digital presence is already fully-built and hasn't been designed with accessibility in mind? Is it too late? Where can you even start to make your site more accessible?

In a five-part series, we're going to share what we look for when we perform accessibility testing to identify the impacts on people with certain disability types. In part 1-of-5, check out how we test for the impact of visual disabilities.

Dyslexia is a term most people have heard, but not everyone understands the impact it has on millions of Americans. Even fewer are aware of key content and design considerations to make digital content easier for people with dyslexia to read and use. Learn about dyslexia and accessibility considerations here.

Make your hashtags more accessible by capitalizing the first letter of each word. This helps people who use screen readers as well as anybody who has difficulty quickly understanding where one word ends and another begins.

An Investment in Your Company and Your Customers

There is still a myth out there that creating digital experiences to be accessible or remediating for digital accessibility is a cost with little or no benefit. Usually fueling this belief are the questions of how many people accessibility actually helps and whether it is really necessary. Here are just a few of the reasons to flip the script and think of digital accessibility as an investment, not a cost.

Closed captions are required for video accessibility.

Here's how to add closed captions to Facebook videos.

Videos generate 12 times more shares than images and text combined, will generate the majority of traffic growth by 2021, and are used by 87% of online marketers in their digital media strategies.

Self-paced training offers several advantages over traditional courses and can be a great option for individuals and corporations alike. Here's why we believe self-paced training works and how you can get started with three great accessibility training courses today.