A few weeks ago, I took part in an online workshop on digital accessibility. My impression was that many of the participants were attending more out of obligation - because of the Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG), which came into effect on June 28, 2025.
This law stipulates that products and services such as payment systems, must be designed to be accessible and also certified as such.
Unfortunately, I still hear too often that this “extra effort” isn’t worth making - because there supposedly aren't many users affected by inaccessible products.
Most impairments are acquired over a lifetime
When you think about how many people are actually affected - and remember that most impairments are acquired over the course of life - it becomes clearer. And not all impairments are permanent; there are temporary ones too.
Take, for example, operating an app. You break your hand, you’ve become a parent and are carrying a toddler along with a thousand other things in your arms, you have conjunctivitis or a stye.
One of my colleagues broke her elbow in a bike accident and couldn’t use her right arm for several weeks. As a right-hander, that was a huge limitation. During that time, the dictation feature on her iPhone helped her a lot.
If you think about it, you’ll probably come up with at least one situation where you were temporarily limited and found using (digital) products really difficult.
Accessibility in digital products is a real game changer not only for people with permanent impairments who struggle every day, but also for those privileged enough to currently have no limitations. Accessible products are a benefit for everyone.
Because we all benefit from features like these (and many more):
High contrast on our smartphone in direct sunlight
Subtitles in videos when we don’t have headphones at hand
Clear and simple navigation, so we don’t have to search long for information
Clear error messages that help us quickly fix input mistakes
Accessibility is not extra effort and does not compromise visual design
In our work, accessibility has long been a given. When we develop digital products, it’s not an add-on - it’s a must.
Standard features of the products we design and develop include:
Responsive design – for optimal usability on all devices and screen sizes
Clear navigation – to help users find their way around easily
Contrast and color choices – avoiding color combinations that are hard to distinguish for people with visual impairments, such as red/green, blue/purple, blue/black
Subtitles and transcripts – to understand videos even without sound
Alt texts for images – descriptive text for visually impaired users
Input assistance – hints for form fields to understand what’s needed
Screen reader compatibility – making content and controls readable for screen readers
Implementing accessibility in practice
Merle and Lena provide insight into how we incorporate accessibility into concept, design, and development:
"We use the ESLint plugin
jsx-a11yto initially check static pages. It flags missing alt texts for images or click events on buttons, for example. To inspect the rendered DOM more thoroughly, we also use@axe-core/react. During runtime, it shows in the console whether contrast levels are sufficient. It also checks essential conditions for screen reader usability, like whether heading levels are in a logical order and all HTML tags have clear roles."
— Merle, Software Developer
"Things get especially interesting when we have an existing style guide—often created for print. Sure, Pantone or CMYK colors have already been converted to HEX codes, but in most cases, a 1:1 translation is not accessible. The question then is: How can we make the digital product accessible while staying on-brand? There are various solutions that differ depending on the case. Colors are slightly adjusted, certain combinations are avoided in digital, or shades are added. One way or another, there’s always a solution—it’s just a path that must be taken."
— Lena, UX/UI & Brand Designer
You can take a closer look at our design and technical implementation of accessibility in our case studies for Gynformation, Hamburger Zukunftsentscheid, and KommMit. And all of this without significant extra effort!
Embracing diversity in user testing
Before a digital product goes into concept, design, and development, it’s essential to conduct user research with a focus on diverse test participants.
Unfortunately, user research is often skipped in favor of assumptions. This not only results in poor user experience and limited product success, but also completely excludes people with impairments.
Yes, in-depth user research takes time—but it’s absolutely worth it. Because only by understanding your target audience in all its diversity can you build a product that’s genuinely useful and well-received. It also saves you from costly iterations later and attracts more users by truly meeting their needs.
That’s why every product development process should start with a diverse focus group that includes people of different ages, backgrounds, genders, and types of impairments.
You then test your mockups and prototypes with this group regularly—until you have a result everyone can use well. Sounds like a big deal—but it’s really not. And it’s fun! It helps you develop a deep understanding of your users and sharpens your awareness of real-world challenges.
Implementing digital accessibility from the start costs less than adding it later
Including accessibility from the very beginning doesn't mean extra effort. Trained designers and developers implement accessibility naturally alongside the regular design and development process. Retrofitting an existing digital product for accessibility, on the other hand, is much more work: it starts with an audit, followed by a redesign – and then the code needs to be updated as well.
So better to do it right from the start—rather than having to fix it later and missing the opportunity to set a positive example.
We truly hope that in the near future, accessibility is no longer seen as a (burdensome) add-on but as the norm.
