Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, and people and companies from all around the globe are participating. I had the privilege of giving a speech this morning on how Drupal is one of the best content management systems for accessibility. It’s always inspiring to see the Drupal community’s commitment to accessibility.

What is accessibility?

Accessibility is about making a product, device or service as widely available as possible. With websites this means providing greater accommodation, generally through a web browser, to a wider diversity of humanity. Web accessibility works to support the whole population, not just those who have perfect vision and are easily able to use a keyboard and mouse. Scalable text, semantics like headings, and even mobile responsive capabilities all fall under the umbrella of accessibility.

Why is Drupal great for accessibility?

The Drupal community has chosen to address accessibility at the source. In Drupal 8 we are adding meaning through new semantic HTML5 elements in a way that is easy and gives screen reader users much needed context. This structure also applies to Drupal 8’s out-of-the-box mobile capabilities, giving screen reader users the ability to navigate and even administer their site through their phone.

Additionally, Drupal’s multilingual functionality is fantastic. Because of the community’s early commitment to internationalization, it’s easy to have more than one language at a time enabled on a website, and Drupal’s internationalization structure has made it easier to build in accessibility for multiple languages at once.

Drupal 8, builds on the accessibility work done in previous releases. We’re incorporating aural alerts, better tab ordering, forced alt text, and more to make it even easier for individuals with disabilities.  With Views being incorporated into Core, Views UI has been made more accessible, as has the table output which is now used throughout the admin interface.

How can I help?

Drupal’s accessibility is great, but just because your website is built with it doesn’t mean it is accessible. It is always useful to engage with people who have disabilities, and use automated testing tools, educate yourself on the issue and have an expert provide an audit of your site. Seek feedback from users with different abilities, and really listen thoughtfully to what they have to say. Together, we can make a difference!