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JustA11ya11y

Level 1

Lesson 02

Accessibility Is About People

Understand how different people experience and interact with digital technology.

  • About 7 min
  • No experience needed

Learning goal

By the end of this lesson you should understand:

  1. 1.People use technology in different ways.
  2. 2.Disabilities can affect how someone interacts with digital content.
  3. 3.Accessibility barriers are not always the same for everyone.
  4. 4.People may use assistive technologies or different strategies.
  5. 5.A person can experience a limitation temporarily or situationally too.
  6. 6.Don’t design for a label. Design with people’s different ways of interacting in mind.

Lesson 2 of 10

Section 2.1

Meet the person, not the label

There isn’t one “typical” way to use the Web.

Imagine two people opening the exact same website.

One person uses a mouse.

Another uses a keyboard.

Someone else listens to the page with a screen reader.

Another person zooms the page to make the text larger.

They’re all using the same Web.

But they’re experiencing it differently.

Accessibility starts with understanding people — not just technology.

Source: W3C — How People with Disabilities Use the Web(opens in a new tab)

Section 2.2

People have different abilities

  • Seeing

    Some people may have:

    • blindness
    • low vision
    • difficulty distinguishing colors
    • difficulty seeing in certain lighting conditions

  • Hearing

    Some people may:

    • be deaf
    • be hard of hearing
    • have difficulty hearing certain sounds

  • Moving & Controlling

    Some people may have difficulty:

    • using a mouse
    • making precise movements
    • tapping small controls
    • holding or operating a device

  • Thinking & Learning

    People can have differences affecting things such as:

    • memory
    • attention
    • reading
    • processing information
    • understanding complex content

  • Speaking & Communicating

    Some people may have difficulty producing speech or communicating through speech.

These are broad examples, not boxes that define people.

Source: W3C — Diverse Abilities and Barriers(opens in a new tab)

Section 2.3

One website. Different barriers.

Book Your Appointment

An example page with these barriers:

  • Small buttons
  • Mouse-only controls
  • Low-contrast text
  • Complicated instructions
  • A video with no captions
Who might have difficulty using this page?

Choose as many as you think apply.

Section 2.4

Abilities can change

  • Permanent

    A person may have a long-term disability.

    Example:

    Someone who is blind may use a screen reader to access digital content.

  • Temporary

    A person may temporarily experience a limitation.

    Example:

    Someone with an injured arm may have difficulty using a mouse.

  • Situational

    A person’s environment can create a limitation.

    Example:

    You’re outside in bright sunlight and can’t easily see your screen.

    Or: You’re somewhere noisy and can’t hear your video.

The person hasn’t necessarily changed. The situation has changed.

Source: W3C — Diverse Abilities and Barriers(opens in a new tab)

Section 2.5

Abilities can change over time

Our abilities can change as we get older.

For example, someone may experience changes in:

  • vision
  • hearing
  • dexterity
  • memory or concentration

That doesn’t mean every older person has a disability.

It means:

Good accessibility considers that people’s abilities can change throughout life.

Section 2.6

People use different tools

Choose a tool to read about it. You can use the arrow keys.

Screen reader

Reads digital content aloud.

Useful for people who cannot see the screen or have difficulty reading it.

Source: W3C — Tools and Techniques(opens in a new tab)

Section 2.7

Same goal. Different path.

Goal: Buy a ticket online.

  • Path A

    1. Mouse
    2. click
    3. select
    4. pay

  • Path B

    1. Keyboard
    2. Tab
    3. Enter
    4. select
    5. pay

  • Path C

    1. Screen reader
    2. navigate headings/forms
    3. select
    4. pay

  • Path D

    1. Voice control
    2. speak commands
    3. select
    4. pay

Which one is the “correct” way?

Section 2.8

Don’t design for the “average user”

Who is the average user?

There isn’t one.

A person may:

  • use a phone instead of a laptop
  • use a keyboard instead of a mouse
  • zoom text
  • listen instead of read
  • use captions
  • use voice input
  • need more time
  • prefer simpler language

Design for people — not assumptions.

Source: W3C — Diverse Abilities and Barriers(opens in a new tab)

Section 2.9

Perspective challenge

You’re watching an important tutorial.

The instructor explains something essential.

But there are no captions.

Your callWhat could you do?

Source: W3C — Introduction to Web Accessibility(opens in a new tab)

Section 2.10 · The big idea

Different people. Different needs. Different ways of interacting.

Accessibility isn’t about predicting exactly how every person will use your product.

It’s about removing barriers that prevent people from using it.

Knowledge check

Check what you understood

Three short questions. You can retry any question — this is for understanding, not for scoring.

Question 1 of 3Which statement is most accurate?
Question 2 of 3Someone has injured their arm and temporarily cannot comfortably use a mouse. What type of limitation could this be?
Question 3 of 3Someone is trying to watch a video in a very noisy environment. Which accessibility feature could help?

Lesson 2 takeaways

By now, you should know:

  • People are different.People have different abilities, preferences, tools and ways of interacting.
  • Barriers are different too.The same digital experience can create different problems for different people.
  • Limitations aren’t always permanent.They can be permanent, temporary or situational.
  • People use different tools.Screen readers, magnifiers, voice input, keyboards and other technologies can help people interact with digital content.
  • Don’t design for assumptions.Design with different people and ways of interacting in mind.
Back to Level 1

Explore the sources

Explore the sources

This lesson is written in our own plain language, based on the concepts explained by these resources.

You’ve met the people. Now let’s discover something surprising...

Accessibility isn’t only useful for people with disabilities.

Continue to Lesson 3