---
title: "What is Accessibility?"
description: "Accessibility means designing digital products so everyone can use them, regardless of ability. It removes barriers for people with disabilities and benefits all users."
---

# What is Accessibility?

**Type:** [What is it?](https://yomu.fyi/visual-explainers/category/what-is-it.md)

![Diagram showing five core pillars of accessibility: perceivable content, operable controls, understandable design, robust code, and inclusive testing. Each pillar connects to practical examples and outcomes.](https://yomufyi.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/visual-explainers/091c7764-abaa-469d-b656-27e8e039f4ba/image-e24beaed-7b83-4601-96b0-18fe60d3b771.webp)

> Accessibility means designing digital products so everyone can use them, regardless of ability. It removes barriers for people with disabilities and benefits all users.

## Explanation

Accessibility is the practice of building digital experiences that work for people with disabilities—including those who are blind, deaf, have motor impairments, or cognitive differences. It involves semantic HTML, keyboard navigation, screen reader support, color contrast, and clear labeling. Accessibility isn't a feature added at the end; it's a foundational design principle that benefits everyone, including people with temporary injuries, aging users, and those in noisy or bright environments. Teams should test with real users, use automated tools, and treat access needs as part of the core product from the start.

**Tags:** [Accessibility](https://yomu.fyi/topic/accessibility.md)

## Related reading

### [Accessibility and Real-time Apps: Clearing Fog and Picking Fruit](https://yomu.fyi/post/accessibility-and-real-time-apps-clearing-fog-and-picking-fruit.md)
- Company: [Fly.io](https://yomu.fyi/company/fly-io.md)
- Published: Apr 25, 2022
- Type: Tutorial

This post describes an initial accessibility pass on LiveBeats, a Phoenix LiveView reference app with real-time social features, focused on screen reader users before real-time updates are introduced. It recommends labeling meaningful controls and images with visible text, alt, SVG desc, or aria-label, while hiding decorative imagery with aria-hidden="true" or blank alt attributes. It then explains that semantic HTML such as button, main, nav, and article is preferable to ARIA roles where available, while named regions can improve navigation and orientation. Roles also create behavioral obligations: a role="button" control must support focus and Enter or Space activation, and role="application" can force focus mode, blocking caret-browsing conveniences unless the app supplies comprehensive interaction behavior. The initial work clears foundational accessibility issues, with later work reserved for presenting live changes accessibly.


### [Accessibility for real-time web apps](https://yomu.fyi/post/accessibility-for-real-time-web-apps.md)
- Company: [Fly.io](https://yomu.fyi/company/fly-io.md)
- Published: Mar 3, 2022
- Type: Explainer

Accessibility for real-time web apps argues that accessibility should be treated as an ongoing design and engineering process rather than a late checklist, using blind developer Nolan Darilek’s experience to frame the subject. It explains why reducing interaction barriers benefits everyone, why disability can be temporary or acquired with age, and why teams should plan for access needs from the beginning. Recommended practices include automated checks such as Deque’s Axe DevTools, live audits, testing with people who have specific access needs, and hiring people with disabilities without making one employee solely responsible. The post then identifies Phoenix LiveView challenges in LiveBeats: dynamically loaded routes need transition announcements, live regions need careful updates, and dropdowns and modals require keyboard-accessibility work.