Accessibility – Accessibility Glossary
What Does Accessibility Mean?
Accessibility describes the design of digital and physical environments in such a way that they can be used by all people, regardless of impairments.
The aim is to give people with disabilities equal access to information, services and social life.
Where Accessibility Applies
- Digital offerings: Websites, apps, software
- Building structures: Public space, signage, transportation services
- Communication: Easy-to-understand language, subtitles, alternative formats
Key Principles of Accessibility
Accessibility follows four basic requirements:
- Content must beperceptible be
- Operation must bepossible even without a mouse
- Information should beunderstandable be
- Systems must berobust work
Why It Matters,
It promotes participation, self-determination, and equality. It also benefits older people, children, and people in temporary situations (e.g. with a broken arm). By focusing on TYPO3 Accessibility, websites can become more inclusive for everyone. TYPO3 Accessibility Checker makes it easy to find and fix any issues, ensuring a better experience for all users.
Accessibility affects far more people than most assume: users with permanent impairments, but also people with a broken arm, in bright sunlight or on a slow connection. An accessible website is therefore usually the better website for everyone – clearer in structure, quicker to operate and more robust across devices.
In practice the benchmark is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) with their four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. In Germany, legal requirements come on top: BITV 2.0 for public bodies and, since June 2025, the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) for many companies. Those who start with an audit early and anchor accessibility in design, editorial work and development avoid costly rework and reach more people.
The best way in is a short stocktake: where are the biggest hurdles, which pages are used most and who in the team can implement measures? From that you can derive a realistic roadmap with clear responsibilities.
