Accessibility in Web Development: Requirements, Current Practices, and the Potential of AI

Imagine you’re standing in front of a locked door, even though you’ve been warmly invited inside. But no one answers. That’s exactly what happens when we don’t design digital services to be accessible.

Web accessibility means designing websites in such a way that they benefit as many people as possible, regardless of physical or cognitive limitations. In addition to social responsibility, legal guidelines and standards are also playing an increasingly important role. Nevertheless, accessibility is still often addressed too late—or not at all—in many projects, frequently due to budget constraints or a lack of awareness.

Accessible web development encompasses numerous aspects that must be taken into account as early as the planning and implementation stages. Take a close look: You need strong contrasts and fonts that can be enlarged without a magnifying glass. We must structure navigation logically so that users don’t get lost, and optimize the site technically so that screen readers can navigate it effectively. Only with proper HTML and the use of ARIA attributes can such assistive technologies truly understand the content and guide users to their destination.

In practice, accessible development requires a great deal of attention and the appropriate expertise within the team. Every single component of a website or application must be checked to ensure it is accessible to people with disabilities. If accessibility is not considered from the outset, it often results in significant additional work, as existing structures must be adapted or reimplemented.

With the increasing use of AI, new opportunities are emerging to support development teams in creating accessible applications. AI can handle the initial review: It detects missing ARIA labels, identifies semantic structure issues, and checks for compliance with contrast and style guidelines. Suggestions for heading hierarchies or focus navigation can also be generated automatically.

Despite this progress, accessibility remains an issue that relies heavily on human expertise. While AI can provide guidance and simplify routine tasks, a truly good screen reader experience or a well-thought-out information structure does not happen automatically. For example, it is difficult for AI to determine whether an image is informative or purely decorative. This distinction is important, however: Informative images require a description, while decorative elements should be deliberately ignored so that screen reader users can navigate content efficiently.

AI also quickly reaches its limits when dealing with more complex user interfaces. For example, it cannot automatically determine whether multiple UI elements—such as a tile containing an image, text, a “Like” icon, and a button—should be structured as a single, cohesive interaction or as separate elements. Here, experience, an understanding of context, and a keen sense of users’ needs remain essential.

We must be clear about one thing: Accessibility remains a central aspect of modern web development and should be part of every project from the very beginning. AI can help reduce the workload and alert development teams to potential problems early on. Ultimately, however, it does not replace human responsibility; rather, it can help ensure that accessible digital offerings are implemented more frequently and cost-effectively in the future. In this way, we can ensure that as many closed doors as possible are reopened.

This article was also published in Netzwoche.