LEVEL ACCESS BLOG
What Does Responsive Web Design Have to do with Accessibility?
Written by: Jonathan Avila
8 years ago
Accessibility Best Practices Responsive Web Design
A lot. Responsive web design (RWD) is a web design approach aimed at delivering flexible web page layouts to provide optimal viewing across a wide range of devices. RWD allows for easy reading and navigation on a variety of different-sized devices – from oversized desktop monitors to mobile phone screens – with a minimal amount of resizing and scrolling. Instead of building multiple sites for multiple device types, RWD allows designers to create one site that responds to each type of device that accesses it and delivers the appropriate output.
Since the creation of the web, users with low vision have sought ways to resize text without adding horizontal scrolling to the page. Additionally, fixed, non-fluid sizes cause overlapping or cutoff text when a web page’s text is resized. Similarly, tables and non-fluid pages used to lay out content cause reading order issues for users of screen readers. One size fits all sites do not fit the needs of users with disabilities. Responsive design principles, including fluid layouts, benefit users with disabilities on desktops as well as on [...]