The Urgency of Digital Accessibility

Around the world, nearly 1.3 billion people are living with disabilities. In the U.S., this accounts for nearly 89 million individuals, or 1 in 4 Americans. Despite these numbers, only 3% of the internet is accessible to them.

Physical places like buildings and workplaces have made significant strides to be more accessible, but much of the digital realm has been left behind. Developers frequently build websites with a “standard” user in mind. But in the same way that clothing mannequins do not reflect all customer body types, focusing solely on a “standard” website user overlooks the variety of people accessing its content.

Our digitally driven world has moved many essential services like healthcare, grocery delivery, and education online. Users who can’t access these services may end up missing critical information. Ultimately, these same users are effectively barred from the benefits that digital access to education, health, and other everyday aspects of life provides.

Recognizing the paramount importance of digital accessibility, companies and organizations across various sectors are prioritizing inclusivity in their digital spaces. This shift towards greater accessibility is more than just a legal necessity — it's crucial to enable digital spaces to be inclusive of all abilities.

Background and Business Challenge

Among these forward-thinking entities is Amplify, a leader in education since 2000. Amplify creates K-12 core and supplemental curriculum, assessment, and intervention programs with the goal of engaging students to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves.

To do this, Amplify collaborates with educators to build rigorous yet exciting learning experiences for students. Currently serving 15 million students across all 50 states, Amplify equips teachers to adapt programs so they reflect the diverse histories, cultures, and identities students bring to the classroom.

It’s why Amplify deeply understood the critical nature of ensuring their website was accessible to all. In fact, “accessibility is regularly reviewed as part of our website’s software development processes,” said Jessica Durow, Amplify’s Director of Web Marketing.

To confirm that their website code and structure provided an inclusive user experience and met or exceeded state and federal accessibility standards, Amplify and SoftServe joined forces. They knew a comprehensive accessibility audit would enable their website to be enjoyed by all.

Proposed Solution

Having worked with SoftServe since 2019, Amplify was confident that SoftServe could deliver a website accessibility audit to identify any potential issues. Further, they knew SoftServe’s experts were up to date on the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and would document and explain the impact of any proposed changes.

A joint effort from Amplify’s web development team and SoftServe’s accessibility service team was proposed to conduct the audit. Using a meticulous and systematic approach to conduct this thorough accessibility audit and compliance review, the teams evaluated Amplify’s key product pages and components.

Together, they delivered ongoing assessments, identified any potential compliance issues, and provided a tailored QA process to recommend best practices to meet compliance standards.