Benefits of equal access

Equal access means removing the barriers that stop some people using information and services. Accessibility features are often seen as help for disabled users, but they improve things for everyone — and once the barriers go, the benefits spread to individuals, organisations and society.

Individuals

People gain access to media and entertainment: captions let you follow a science video on a noisy bus, and audio description makes a nature programme usable when you cannot see the screen. An accessible website also lets you do everyday jobs at any hour and on any device, such as renewing a library loan on the way home or checking when a pool at your local leisure centre is free from your phone. Online courses and revision sites offer chances to learn and improve, while messaging and video calls make it easy to keep in touch with relatives far away.

Organisations

Businesses benefit because every member of staff can use their systems to research competitors and prices, find suppliers and communicate better with each other. When everyone can reach the records and financial systems they need, orders and invoices are less likely to be wrong, which improves financial management. Accessible customer communication, such as a clear contact form or live chat, improves service. For example, a bakery that publishes its opening hours and allergen list as plain text with proper headings lets a customer's screen reader read those details aloud, winning orders it would otherwise have lost.

Society

Social networking reduces social barriers and brings communities together, because people who cannot easily leave home can still join groups. Messaging over long distances at a lower cost keeps families and friends connected. The democratisation of knowledge means anyone with internet access can learn, not just those who can travel to a library or pay for a course. Shared online projects build a better understanding of other cultures and support international collaboration, such as schools in different countries putting together an online museum of local history.