Why is accessibility important for startups?
As a startup, you have a lot on your plate. You’re trying to get your product off the ground while building a team and getting funding. It’s a lot to juggle, and sometimes things can fall through the cracks.
One area that is often overlooked is accessibility. Making sure your product is accessible to everyone, regardless of ability, is not just about making an impact. It can also give you a competitive edge. After all, if your product is accessible to more people, that’s more potential customers.
There are many different tools and services available that can help with this goal. This article explores some of these options and provides five things that can be done right now to start making applications more accessible.
What is digital accessibility?
In computing, accessibility refers to the ease with which people can use information technology. Several factors can affect accessibility, including a person’s physical abilities and limitations, their level of experience and expertise, and the design of the technology itself. There are several ways to make technology more accessible, including developing software that is easier to use, providing training and support, and making hardware that is easier to use.
How can thinking about accessibility help your startup?
First, it ensures that your product or service is accessible to a broader range of potential customers or clients. Making your business accessible is also suitable for business. According to the American Institutes for Research, people with disabilities have a combined spending power of $490 billion, and they are more likely to do business with companies that are accessible and inclusive.
In addition, making your business accessible can help you attract and retain top talent. People with disabilities make up a large pool of potential employees, and insisting that your workplace is accessible shows that you value diversity and inclusion.
In many countries, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, businesses are legally bound to ensure that their products, services, and facilities are accessible to people with disabilities. This includes physical accessibility (e.g., wheelchair ramps) and digital accessibility (e.g., website design that can be used by screen readers).
Making your product or service accessible shows that you are committed to inclusion and diversity, which builds trust and confidence and that’s just good business.
How to Make Your Startup Accessible?
At Microsoft, one of our core values is diversity and inclusion, and we have many tools to help startups with achieve that also. Making your startup accessible doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. There are a few simple steps you can take to get started:
1. Conduct an accessibility audit
The first step is to conduct an accessibility audit of your products, services, and facilities. This will help you identify any barriers to accessibility that need to be addressed. There are a variety of accessibility audits you can do, including website accessibility audits, physical accessibility audits, and digital accessibility audits.
The Accessibility Insights for Web tool is a free extension for the Microsoft Edge browser that can help you test and improve the accessibility of your website. It provides a number of features, including a contrast checker, an ARIA landmark checker, and a tool that simulates how your site would be experienced by someone with low vision.
Microsoft’s Office Suite comes with Accessibility Checker, a free tool that can help you find and fix accessibility issues in your product. Just open your product in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote and click “Check for Issues” in the “Review” tab. The Accessibility Checker will scan your document and provide a report of any accessibility issues it finds, along with suggestions for how to fix them.
2. Think about who will use your software and ensure it is accessible to everyone
There are several ways to ensure your website is accessible to everyone. One way is to add alternative text to all of your images. This text helps screen-reading tools describe images to visually impaired readers. It will also appear in place of an image if it doesn’t load.
Adding alternative text to photos is a simple process that takes a few seconds, and it can make a big difference in how your website is perceived by search engines and people with disabilities. Learn more about accessible templates for Microsoft Office tools here.
You can also use AI tools such as Microsoft Cognitive Services APIs to help make your applications and services more accessible to people with disabilities. For example, the APIs can be used to detect and interpret text, images, and speech, and to provide alternative content for people with disabilities.
3. Train Your Employees
It’s essential to make sure that your employees are trained on accessibility. They should know what it is, why it’s necessary, and how to implement it in their day-to-day work.
Different accessibility tools are available to you and your team. By taking the time to learn about these tools, you can ensure that your startup is inclusive and accessible to everyone. You can find training resources online, including webinars, e-learning courses, and workshops.
4. Make your design inclusive
Inclusive design is a methodology born out of digital environments that enables and draws on the full range of human diversity. Most importantly, this means including and learning from people with various perspectives.
Learn more about inclusive design. The training covers topics such as how to design for people with different types of disabilities, test for accessibility, and make products and services more accessible.
5. Test, Test, Test
Once you’ve implemented accessibility features, it’s essential to test them to ensure they’re working correctly. This can include testing website design with screen readers, physical accessibility with mobility impairments, and digital testing accessibility with various disabilities.
Making your startup accessible is a journey, not a destination. Therefore, it’s essential to continuously audit, test, and improve your accessibility features over time.
Following these simple steps can make your startup more accessible and inclusive for everyone.
What is an accessible impact startup?
An impact startup is a company that is focused on making a positive impact on society rather than simply making a profit. There are several ways to measure impact, but one of the most important is to look at how the company improves access to essential goods and services for people who need them.
In the case of accessibility, this means looking at how the company makes it easier for people with disabilities to access the products and services they need. This could involve developing new technologies to make it easier for people with disabilities to use everyday products or provide training and support to help people with disabilities find employment. The company must make a conscious effort to improve the lives of people with disabilities and measures its work’s impact.
This could be done through surveys of people with disabilities who have used the company’s products or services or by looking at how many people with disabilities the company has helped find employment.
Impact startups are an essential part of the “social-good” sector, and they are playing an increasingly important role in the fight to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.
Microsoft for Startups AI for Good
We have cohorts of Microsoft AI for Good acceleration programs that help startups create positive social transformation through AI solutions. The program provides resources, advice, and support for startups to scale their businesses.
Microsoft is committed to empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We are proud to support accessibility startups that are using AI to create new technologies and services that help people with disabilities to lead more independent and fulfilling lives.” – Meital Shamia, Director of global programs in Microsoft for Startups
Recently we had the pleasure of having Rory Preddy, Principal Cloud Advocate at Microsoft, visit some of the startups in the current Microsoft for Startups AI for Good cohort and interview four of the most impactful startups in our program.
Newton Tech combines aerospace technology and cutting-edge neuroscience to create the world’s best recovery experience.
SocialMind is a training app for therapists and parents of children with autism that offers personalized video feedback.
Voiceitt lets people with non-standard speech, build their own speech assistant.
Travaxy is the first B2B accessible travel API for senior travelers and travelers with disabilities.
