# Web Accessibility in Entando
The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.
-- Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web
Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. Accessibility is essential for developers and organizations that want to create high-quality websites and web tools, and not exclude people from using their products and services. See w3.org (opens new window) for an introduction to this topic.
# Requirements and Standards
Many projects and programs have specific requirements in terms of accessibility, particularly for applications or sites with a broad reach or specific governance considerations. Entando's approach to accessibility is to provide the tools and techniques that allow a development team to meet their own specific accessibility requirements.
Development teams need someone to become familiar with the relevant accessibility standards to help make design decisions on how they can be applied to specific projects. These standards may vary by region so please check the legislation in your area or consult an accessibility specialist. Useful resources include:
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) (opens new window)
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) (opens new window)
- USA: Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (opens new window)
At the end of the day, it's up to the development team to make sure their implementation is compliant with specific guidelines or standards. Typically a team will make use of Entando Page Templates, Content Templates, and custom micro frontends in order to accomplish this goal.
# Tools
Accessibility requirements are ideally known at the start of a project so the design language and tools can be adopted early in the project. Using them consistently will ease implementation of the accessibility elements needed to meet the desired compliance level. Retrofitting a project for inclusive design can be done but is typically more involved. Example design systems used by Entando clients include:
- Material-UI (opens new window) - a React framework used to build a custom design system and/or one based on Material Design.
- Carbon Design System (opens new window) - IBM's open source design system
- Bootstrap Italia (opens new window) - a Bootstrap 4-based frontend theme that implements the Italian Design Guidelines for public websites.
Evaluating web accessibility is important throughout the life of a project. There are many tools available in this area. A useful list can be found on the W3C site (opens new window) with filters by guideline, region, language, etc. The following resources have been found useful by Entando clients: