While CMS vendors have historically failed to meet accessibility needs, we have now started seeing large corporations concerned about ensuring their digital platforms are accessible.

With the arrival of more and stricter legislation, and importantly also enforcement, there is growing pressure to improve, with accessibility now a central factor in procurement decisions. The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is coming, very soon, and it is already having a big impact on businesses around the world. In Ireland it is being implemented with the threat of prison time!

In a recent members' call we were joined by Gavin Colborne from Little Forest in the UK, who told us more about what's happening with digital accessibility right now and what's around the corner waiting for us next year.

Accessibility has long been the bad conscience of digital leaders, but in recent years it has gained increased attention in modern web development.

The Web has always been intended for everyone, so it's important we can meet the different accessibility needs of all users. Similar to GDPR, new legislation, a desire to avoid lawsuits, and bad press, are driving most organisations to ask for compliance.

In a recent member conference call, Gavin Colborne from Little Forest, shared what it takes to achieve the highest level of compliance - known as triple-A - as a brand.

Your visitors rely on the usability of your website and products to engage with your brand, yet many still have various barriers which is bad for both the user experience and your brand.

Accessibility has clearly moved from a nice-to-have to a must-have with the advent of new legislation and recent lawsuits. As Gavin Colborne from Little Forest in the UK said in our recent member conference call, there are many changes coming for 2020.