Note: This article was published in 2017. Software versions, prices, settings, apps and services mentioned may have changed or been discontinued since then — please check current information before relying on it.

Open a web page and take note of the elements on the page. Is there a carousel of main stories at the top of the page where each item appears for a few seconds before other items follow in a cyclical process? Is there hyperlinked text on the page containing the words ‘click here’? Is the page crammed with banner ads?

If a web page has any, or all, of these features, it would be considered rather inaccessible for people with certain disabilities, especially those who reply on screen readers to inform them of the content on a website. It can be very easy to take the senses for granted and create a site that looks visually dazzling, but if a page is overloaded with carousels or banner ads, or has a lack of high contrast images, it leads to a spoiled user experience for people with disabilities.

A website that is accessible in every sense of the word will contain content that is fully perceivable by all the senses and be robust enough to accommodate all assistive technologies (e.g. screen readers). Users should have full control over the operation of the content (i.e. content should not disappear periodically on rotating elements) and the content should be easily comprehensible.

This infographic from Burning Nights explores the difficulties that disabled people could face when surfing the Internet and suggests how the user experience can be optimised so that the Internet is truly accessible for everyone.