Why is accessibility so important?
When it comes to accessibility, many people think of elevators and ramps, floor guidance systems, and noise-emitting traffic lights. But there is much more to making everyday life accessible, and those affected include
- around 13 million people with disabilities
- around 19 million seniors
- people who speak German as a foreign language
Accessibility relates to all man-made areas of our lives; these must be designed in such a way that people with and without disabilities can use them without assistance. This applies in equal measure to the digital world.
Laws concerning improved accessibility
A range of laws and directives are designed to enhance accessibility in all areas:
- The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ensure that internet content is accessible to everyone.
- The European Accessibility Act (EAA) requires that EU companies make their products and services accessible; this also applies to digital products and services.
- The German government has transposed the EAA into national law with the German Accessibility Improvement Act (BFSG).
Many companies in Germany need to highlight the date June 28, 2025 in their diaries. This is the date on which the binding BFSG requirements come into force. From then on, products such as PCs, smartphones, self-service terminals at ATMs, and online services including web stores and banking services must be accessible.
Suggested reading: You can find out what other topics are currently occupying technical writing teams in our overview of the 5 top trends for 2025.
How accessibility is relevant to technical documentation
The new requirements primarily affect B2C companies. However, the law is also relevant for B2B companies that manufacture, sell, or import products affected by the BFSG. For example, they must make the associated product information accessible.
Although, irrespective of the BFSG, it is well worth manufacturers making their documentation and human-machine interfaces accessible:
- Manufacturers position themselves as inclusive employers.
- Readily understandable operating instructions enable career changers and junior staff to familiarize themselves with the operation of machines and devices faster.
- Clearly formulated documentation that is accessible and understandable for everyone contributes to enhanced safety in everyday working life.
Accessible documentation: important points for technical writers
The WCAG show how technical writers can make their digital user manuals and documentation accessible—the guidelines specify the criteria that digital content needs to fulfill in order to be accessible to all.
The following four principles are particularly relevant:
- Information and user interfaces must be perceptible for all users, even if their perceptual abilities are limited and they require assistive technologies such as screen readers.
- UX and UI must be designed in such a way that applications or websites can be operated by all users—regardless of whether they use a mouse or keyboard.
- All information and controls displayed must be understandable for all users.
- Content and functions must be robust. This means that they must be accessible regardless of the user's end device and the assistive technology used.
The following overview provides specific examples of how technical writing teams can apply these principles to their work and make their documentation accessible.
Structure content
To enable assistive technologies to interpret content correctly, it must be clearly structured. Headings and paragraphs should be marked as structural elements and images should be provided with alternative texts.
A clear structure also makes it easier to navigate through the documentation if users prefer to work with the keyboard rather than the mouse. Buttons and links should be clearly labeled, so that it’s clear what will happen after the user clicks on them.
Prepare information in an understandable way
Simple language ensures that every user understands what is meant right away. In addition to clear wording, a sufficiently large font size and typography also aid the understanding of information.
Complex technical terms are often unavoidable in technical documentation; if they really must be used then they should always be explained.
Optimize visualization
Images are important information carriers and should be high-contrast so that users can grasp them quickly. When using color illustrations, consider individuals with color blindness and do not convey important information using color coding alone.
In the complex world of machine construction, videos can serve to aid clarity. Subtitles can improve their accessibility. Multimedia files also need alternatives: to ensure that people with impaired vision or hearing are able to fully comprehend the content, audio files should be available for texts and text versions for videos, for example.
How can technical writers promote accessibility?
Many of the points mentioned are nothing new for technical writers. They are constantly working on making complex information easy to understand and even more accessible—for example, by adding interactive instructions to text-only information.
In future, however, it will be important to consider the issue of accessibility as early as the process of creating technical information. The following points are key here:
- Exactly which barriers need to be removed depends on the end user and what obstacles different target groups might face when using the product.
- Modern software solutions support the accessible design of XML or PDF documentation. Adobe Acrobat, for example, can be used to check whether a PDF document is accessible before it is created.
- In content management systems, it is important to use metadata to clearly label and structure content and to assign alt texts.
Understanding and employing accessibility as an opportunity
According to a recent survey, accessible digital services are absolutely essential for 10 percent of all people and necessary for 30 percent of users, while they are of course helpful for all users.
Accessible technical information allows you to improve usability for all users and means you are prepared for legal requirements like those set out in the BFSG, provided they are relevant to your company.
Even if your technical writing team is not obliged to create accessible content, you can still raise awareness of accessible information as a quality feature for technical documentation.
Quanos software solutions help you make your information as structured and accessible as possible.