The State of Digital Accessibility: Three Signs of Evolution

Over the past 25-plus years, Level Access has worked with thousands of organizations, ranging from e-commerce startups to Fortune 500 enterprises, to make their digital experiences accessible. Through our work, we’ve learned that every organization’s digital accessibility journey is unique—and often, the priorities and practices they adopt early on shift as their team scales, technology advances, and the broader digital accessibility landscape evolves.  

For the past five years, we’ve chronicled changes in organizations’ adoption of digital accessibility by publishing an annual survey-based research report. Developed in partnership with the IAAP - International Association of Accessibility Professionals and G3ict - The Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs , the State of Digital Accessibility Report has become a benchmark for the industry. Beyond providing tactical insight into what’s working in organizations’ current approaches to digital accessibility, and the challenges that block progress, our research has illuminated how professionals’ understanding of digital accessibility has expanded and matured over time.  

This evolution is clear in our just-published Fifth Annual State of Digital Accessibility Report. For the first time, we expanded our sample to survey more than 500 senior managers and executives at enterprise organizations alongside boots-on-the ground practitioners, providing a more comprehensive overview of accessibility practices across the general market. Our findings speak to the highly dynamic nature of our industry—and they're a testament to the incredible progress organizations are making toward building a more equitable digital world. Here are a few key takeaways that underscore this progress.  

Digital accessibility is a mainstream priority 

Seven in ten respondents to our survey say their organization has a digital accessibility policy—an indicator that accessibility is no longer an emerging movement. It’s a mainstream practice, embraced by small businesses and major enterprises alike. Even more encouraging, 74% say that there’s an individual or department that’s centrally accountable for overseeing the adoption of digital accessibility across their organization. That means teams aren’t just saying they’re committed to online inclusion: they’re clearly assigning responsibility for making it a reality.  

Organizations understand that the benefits of accessibility go beyond compliance 

Many organizations first commit to digital accessibility to check a compliance box. We’ve observed this historically, and it’s still the case—compliance is the top reason respondents say their organization started adopting digital accessibility. But when asked why their organization continues to prioritize accessibility, those surveyed were most likely to say they’re motivated by improving usability for all. Once they get their programs off the ground, teams today realize that compliance is table stakes. They understand that, at its core, digital accessibility is about an ongoing journey of making technology work for everyone.  

The shift to proactive, embedded accessibility is paying off 

I’ve previously made the case for agile accessibility—the practice of proactively incorporating accessibility into digital experience creation instead of pouring time and money into reactive fixes. In the past, this has been difficult for teams: addressing accessibility earlier in the development life cycle was a top challenge for those we surveyed last year.  

While some teams still struggle to make the shift to a proactive approach—11% of respondents say their organizations only address accessibility once experiences are live—those who consider it from the start are reaping the benefits. Respondents who report that their organizations consider accessibility in planning are over two times more likely to notice improved revenue due to accessibility than those who rely on reactive remediation of live experiences.  

The work ahead 

Organizations are clearly advancing in their understanding of digital accessibility, and in how they’re approaching it. Despite this positive outlook, however, our research uncovered several challenges facing digital accessibility programs—including resourcing gaps, internal misalignment, and confusion about compliance obligations. If you’re interested in further exploring these areas of opportunity, I recommend diving into the full report. 

The bottom line: Today, digital accessibility is a business best practice 

As we approach 2024, the digital landscape continues to evolve rapidly—and to serve all users, organizations’ accessibility efforts will need to keep pace. But I’m encouraged by the fact that so many teams today recognize digital accessibility as an organizational priority. They know it’s connected to, not separate from, other business objectives like user experience. And when they approach accessibility with the same proactive attitude they apply to other organizational goals, it becomes a springboard for growth.  

Access the Fifth Annual State of Digital Accessibility Report: 2023 - 2024 for more data and insight on how organizations are approaching digital accessibility today.