Digital Accessibility: More than just a buzzword

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) lands on the third Thursday of May each year. It exists to prompt conversation and action around a topic that many people still misunderstand or overlook: digital access and inclusion, particularly for people with disabilities.

In a world increasingly reliant on websites, apps, online forms, and virtual services, digital accessibility is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s essential. GAAD reminds us that if something is online, it needs to be usable by everyone, not just those with perfect vision, hearing, motor skills, or cognitive ability.

This isn’t about tokenistic gestures or compliance tick boxes. It’s about real-world usability. Can someone navigate your website using a keyboard? Can they understand the language used without a medical dictionary? Can a screen reader make sense of your menus?

Disability takes many forms. Some are permanent, like visual impairments or mobility limitations.

Others are temporary such as a broken wrist, blocked ears on a flight, a migraine that blurs your focus. Some are situational: poor lighting, slow internet, one hand on a pram.

Accessibility matters in all these cases. And it doesn’t just benefit those who tick a certain box, it improves the user experience for everyone.

The rise of smartphones, voice-controlled devices, and screen-based healthcare access means the digital world is no longer optional. Whether it’s booking a GP appointment, applying for support, or reading test results, the digital shift affects all of us. But for some, it adds yet another barrier to care.

What GAAD is trying to do

GAAD’s aim is to get more people thinking about inclusive design from the start — not as an afterthought. The GAAD Foundation, formed in 2021, continues to push for digital inclusion as a standard, not an exception. It’s not about flashy campaigns. It’s about getting the basics right:

• Clear navigation.

• Text that’s readable and understandable.

• Compatibility with assistive tech like screen readers and speech-to-text tools.

• Design that doesn’t exclude people through colour contrast, layout, or jargon.

• Listening to those with lived experience to shape the tools they actually need.

Who’s backing it?

For an awareness day with global reach, it’s surprising how few health charities publicly engage with GAAD. One exception is Macmillan Cancer Support, who have been quietly getting on with it in the background.

They’ve recognised that accessibility goes beyond ramps and hearing loops. It’s just as important when it comes to how people find and understand cancer information online or whether they can even access it in the first place.

Here’s what they’ve been doing:

Integrating accessibility into digital design from the beginning — not just tacking it on afterwards.

Improving their website to better support assistive technologies like screen readers, keyboard navigation, and mobile responsiveness.

Raising awareness internally, encouraging staff to consider accessibility in the way they write, design, and communicate.

Updating content writing guidelines to ensure their materials are understandable by someone with a reading age of 12 (the UK average).

It might sound like basic stuff, but in reality, many organisations fall short of even this. Macmillan openly acknowledge that accessibility is an ongoing journey. It’s not something you ‘do once and dust’. They’ve committed to building on this progress, not just for GAAD, but year-round.

Digital accessibility isn’t just about ticking boxes. It’s about people.

The real measure of accessibility isn’t whether a website passes a checklist. It’s whether a person is in pain, confused, frightened, or simply living with a disability, they can use it without frustration or exclusion.

If you’ve ever been shut out of a service because of clunky design, small print, or hard-to-follow instructions, then you’ve felt the impact of poor accessibility. Multiply that by millions, and you begin to understand the importance of days like GAAD.

We talk a lot about inclusion, but inclusion without accessibility is worthless.

Back to home