2026 UX Resolution: Make Online Experiences Accessible

Training & Jobs

January 7, 2026

Our world is increasingly digital in nature allowing people to shop, study, find news, entertainment and even love online. When building these experiences, common assumption is that everyone will use websites, apps and social media platforms the same way by reading, watching, listening and scrolling. But is that an accurate statement?

Knowing your audience is the key

According to the World Health Organization, 1.3 billion or 16% of global population currently experience a significant disability that impacts how they communicate, interact and function in both the physical and digital environment.

Let’s zoom in on Europe. According to the 2024 Eurostat data, 27% of EU population over the age 16 has some form of disability. That’s 101 million Europeans or every 4^th person reading this blog.

The image below is showing a semi-circle of universally recognized types of disabilities:

Vision
Hearing
Neurodivergence
Mobility/Dexterity
Learning
Speech
Overall physical and mental health

One person may be, to some degree, impacted by one, a few, or all of them.

To complicate things further, some disabilities are permanent, others are situational, temporary, or acquired gradually over time.

Infographic courtesy of Gosia Wheeler.

Disabilities and Digital User Experience

Let me give you a few examples of how disabilities impact overall user experience online:

Let’s consider the population of aging adults. They will over time experience loss of hearing and vision, even though they may not admit to being disabled. UX designers creating online content geared towards senior citizens should make adjustment taking advantage of bigger font, clear structure, and easy to read content.
Another example: a child with a learning disability like dyslexia may struggle with online learning at school, just like the sleep-deprived young parents taking required training at work or those learning in a foreign language. Designers of learning materials need to take various types of students into account when incorporating clear language, easy to follow structure, and engaging visuals.
Mobile experience example: It’s hard to reply to the incoming text message while walking outdoors on a sunny day – even if you have 20/20 vision, you may be limited in what you see by your phone’s screen glare. Mobile app developers take it into account checking color contrast, size of buttons and input fields, as well as formatting to assure you can communicate with the world anywhere.
Interactive communication example: some individuals may be non-verbal from birth, while others will lose their voice temporarily after cheering for their favorite football team. If the online user experience requires verbal interaction through voice commands, consider offering an alternative like typing.

Keeping everyone in the audience in mind is not just a nice-to-have suggestions for UX designers and developers. Accessibility is required for products and services in-scope of the European Accessibility Act (EAA) which became effective in all 27 EU member states in June 2025.