Digital Accessibility in 2025: Why It Matters and How to Get It Right

As digital ecosystems evolve, accessibility is no longer a niche concern or regulatory afterthought – it’s a core pillar of quality digital experiences.

With the European Accessibility Act coming into force and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 raising the bar, businesses are being called to make their platforms inclusive by design. But beyond compliance, accessibility brings tangible value: broader user engagement, better SEO, enhanced usability, and long-term resilience.

In this article, we explore common pitfalls, emerging tools, and practical strategies to build truly inclusive digital experiences in 2025 and beyond.

Common Accessibility Pitfalls to Avoid

Despite increasing awareness, many digital platforms continue to fall short of accessibility standards – often unintentionally. Some of the most frequent issues include:

• Inadequate colour contrast, which affects users with low vision or colour blindness and reduces readability for all;
• Improper use of ARIA roles and landmarks, leading to confusion for assistive technologies;
• Lack of full keyboard navigation, excluding users who cannot rely on a mouse or touchscreen;
• Non-structured or inaccessible forms, which make data input confusing or impossible, particularly for screen reader users.

These barriers not only create poor user experiences but also impact SEO, conversion rates, and overall product performance. Worse, they risk alienating a growing audience of users who rely on assistive technologies – currently over 15% of the global population.

Designing Inclusive User Experiences

Designing for accessibility means designing for difference. Inclusive UX doesn’t begin with guidelines – it begins with people. It involves acknowledging that users vary widely in their physical, sensory, and cognitive abilities, and that these differences should shape our design decisions from the outset.

A truly inclusive experience supports:

• Users with visual impairments, through readable typography, scalable interfaces, and screen reader compatibility;
• Users with motor limitations, via intuitive keyboard or voice navigation;
• Users with cognitive disabilities, thanks to clear structure, language simplicity, and predictable interactions;
• Users with hearing impairments, through captions, transcripts, and visual cues.

Inclusive design is not simply about meeting WCAG criteria – it’s about fostering empathy, reducing friction, and opening access to a broader and more diverse audience. Teams that prioritise accessibility from the early design phase often discover that the resulting products are better for everyone – not just for users with disabilities.

The Role of AI and Machine Learning in Accessibility

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are rapidly transforming how we detect and resolve accessibility challenges. These technologies offer powerful opportunities to scale accessibility efforts – but they must be used wisely.

Modern tools powered by AI can:

• Automatically identify contrast issues, missing alt text, or improper headings;
• Generate accurate and contextual alternative text for images;
• Create real-time video captions and transcripts, making multimedia content more inclusive;
• Enhance screen readers and voice assistants, enabling more natural interactions for users with visual or motor impairments.

These tools significantly reduce the manual effort required to achieve compliance. However, they are not infallible. AI can misinterpret visual content, fail to capture nuance in language, or replicate unconscious bias embedded in training data.

That’s why human oversight remains essential. AI should augment – not replace – the expertise of designers, testers, and users. A thoughtful balance between automation and manual review ensures accessibility implementations are not only technically correct, but also contextually meaningful and ethically sound.

Our Commitment to Digital Inclusion

At COMMpla, we recognise that accessibility is no longer optional – it’s an essential aspect of building responsible, high-quality digital solutions.

This means aligning our workflows with internationally recognised standards, such as WCAG 2.2, and progressively adopting accessibility best practices across our teams – from UX/UI design to development and content creation.

We are currently evaluating the most effective tools, frameworks, and testing methods, with the aim of combining automated analysis with human-centred reviews to better reflect the real-world needs of users. Internally, we are also fostering a shared culture of accessibility by raising awareness, facilitating training, and encouraging collaboration between designers and developers.

Our goal is to make accessibility a natural, integrated part of our digital production process. As we move forward, we are committed to continuously improving our capabilities and building digital experiences that are open and usable for everyone.