

This term is generally only used to refer to digital accessibility, and we’ll use it in this guide because typing out “accessibility” every time is kind of a drag.īuilding accessible sites and apps is part design, part UX, part coding, and a whole lot of testing. There are 11 letters between the a and the y in the word accessibility, hence a11y. A11y is a numerical contraction for the word “accessibility”.

Jargon Alert: People in the accessibility community will often use the word “a11y”. We’re going to focus on web and mobile accessibility in this guide, but a lot of the concepts will still be relevant if, say, you’re a video game developer.

This can apply to websites, mobile apps, desktop apps, video games, electronic documents, and more. “ Digital accessibility” refers to the practice of building digital content and applications that can be used by people with disabilities.
