Introduction

Deciding to prioritize digital accessibility is a significant step for any organization. It signals the beginning of an ongoing commitment to ensuring that all users, including those with disabilities, can use your digital products with ease. However, starting out, most organizations face an extensive list of web and app improvements required to meet accessibility standards. If you find yourself in this position, it's important to remember that you don’t need to tackle everything at once. Building a successful digital accessibility program involves a steady progression towards realistic, achievable goals.

Understanding Your Starting Point

1. Understanding the current state of your program is vital when setting realistic digital accessibility goals for your organization. Based on our experiences with numerous organizations, we've found that most follow a common journey that comprises four key stages.
2. Identify: The first step in creating an accessible digital environment is to identify areas that aren’t currently accessible. Though it can be daunting to see a long list of improvements needed, focus on flagging high-priority items and set manageable timelines to address them.
3. Remediate: In this stage, you address identified issues and make the necessary fixes. Beware of treating accessibility as a one-time project and falling into a recurring “break/fix” cycle. Prioritize lasting changes over quick fixes.
4. Sustain: Once you've fixed initial issues, it’s critical to establish repeatable processes to continually address accessibility. Your product and user needs evolve, and your accessibility efforts must evolve with them.
5. Advocate: When you’ve built a sustainable system for maintaining digital accessibility, it’s time to promote accessibility throughout your organization and beyond. Championing accessibility raises awareness and ensures continued commitment.

Considering the Bigger Picture

While it’s essential to keep your goals in alignment with your program’s current stage, you should also maintain a longer-term perspective. Plan ahead to ensure a smooth transition to each successive stage and avoid getting stuck or losing momentum.

Assigning Clear Responsibilities

Less than half of organizations have a central party responsible for accessibility initiatives, leading to siloed work, disorganization, and inefficiency. Therefore, it’s crucial to assign and communicate clear responsibilities for every project within your digital accessibility program. Assign roles based on existing responsibilities and make accessibility a natural extension of each person's work, rather than an add-on.

Seeking Outside Help

Consulting with an experienced third-party resource can provide invaluable guidance and help you prioritize your goals more effectively. Leveraging their expertise ensures you maximize the use of your time and resources.

Zenyth’s Comprehensive Solutions

At Zenyth, we offer a comprehensive end-to-end digital accessibility platform. Our suite of software tools, along with dedicated coaching from accessibility experts, can aid in everything from automated site monitoring to comprehensive design reviews. We strive to work alongside your team to ensure your digital products meet the highest accessibility standards.

Conclusion

Regardless of where you are on your digital accessibility journey, remember that you’re not alone. Every organization starts somewhere, usually with identifying the problems. The important thing is to set achievable goals that align with your current stage, maintain accountability, and continue to push forward. With the right mindset and approach, you can make your digital platforms fully accessible and inclusive, one step at a time.

Ready to take the next step towards comprehensive accessibility? Reach out to Zenyth today. We're here to support you on this critical journey towards inclusion and accessibility.