We build websites for people. All people.
That sounds obvious, but it's easy to forget when you're deep in a design sprint, chasing a launch date, or trying to nail the perfect hover animation. Accessibility can feel like something to layer on at the end.
It isn't. And at SplitMango, we treat it that way from day one.
Why Accessibility Matters
About 27% of Canadian adults live with some form of disability. That includes people who are blind or have low vision. People who are Deaf or hard of hearing. People who navigate with a keyboard instead of a mouse, or who rely on a screen reader to experience the web.
When a website isn't built with accessibility standards, those people are locked out. Not accidentally. Not technically. Just locked out, because the decision was made, consciously or not, to build for some users and not others.
That's not a small oversight. It's a missed audience, a broken experience, and in many cases, a legal issue.
The Standards that Guide Us
In Canada, accessibility requirements are shaped by two interlocking frameworks.
AODA (the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) requires organizations operating in Ontario to meet specific accessibility standards across their digital properties. Under AODA, websites must conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA, the internationally recognized benchmark for web accessibility published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
WCAG 2.0 Level AA covers four core principles, summarized as POUR:
Perceivable — Can users perceive all the content? Think alt text for images, captions for video, the right colour contrast.
Operable — Can users operate the interface? Keyboard navigation, no seizure-inducing flashes, enough time to complete tasks.
Understandable — Is the content clear? Readable language, predictable layouts, helpful error messages.
Robust — Does it work across assistive technologies? Screen readers, voice control software, and diverse browsers.
While AODA applies specifically to Ontario-based organizations, WCAG 2.0 AA is internationally adopted, referenced in legislation and policy across the UK, the US (Section 508), the EU, and Australia. Building to this standard means building for the whole web.
How We Actually Do It
Accessibility isn't something we bolt on. It's woven into our process:
In design, that means contrast ratios are checked before colours are approved. Focus states are designed. Typography is sized for readability, not just aesthetics. Tap targets are large enough for everyone, including people with motor impairments.
In development, that means semantic HTML is the foundation. ARIA labels are added where they add meaning. Forms have proper labels and error handling. Images have meaningful alt text. The DOM order makes sense when navigated with a keyboard.
In QA, that means we test manually and with real tools. We run automated audits to catch the obvious issues. And where possible, we test with screen readers, because automated tools catch roughly 30–40% of issues. The rest requires human judgment.
Accessibility is a craft skill, not a plugin.
Recommended Reading
If you want to go deeper, whether you're a designer, developer, product owner, or someone who just wants to understand what good looks like, these are the resources we return to most.
Books
Accessibility for Everyone by Laura Kalbag (A Book Apart) — The clearest introduction to accessibility as a design practice. Short, practical, and genuinely convincing.
Form Design Patterns by Adam Silver (Smashing Magazine) — Forms are one of the most common accessibility failure points. This book fixes that.
Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug — Not purely an accessibility book, but usability and accessibility are deeply connected. A classic for good reason.
Online Resources
WCAG 2.0 Quick Reference — The official W3C reference. Denser, but authoritative.
The A11Y Project — A community-driven checklist and resource hub built specifically for developers.
Accessability by RGD — A Canadian resource from the Association of Registered Graphic Designers, focused on accessible design education, tools, and guidance for Canadian practitioners.
The Future of Accessibility
The conversation around accessibility is shifting. For years, it lived in the compliance lane, a legal requirement, a checklist. That's changing.
AI is accelerating how fast digital products get built, and that speed creates real risk. Fewer collaborators, faster decisions, less time for review. Accessibility gaps don't just persist in that environment. They scale.
At the same time, the bar for what users expect is rising. Compliance on paper means nothing if the experience breaks down in practice. Meeting the legal standard matters, and so does whether a real person, with real needs, can actually use what you built.
The organizations that will get this right aren't the ones treating accessibility as a contractual layer. But the ones who care and build it into every decision, from planning to the final deploy. Not because a deadline is approaching. Because it's the right way to build.
That's the standard we hold ourselves to at SplitMango.
Have questions about how accessibility factors into your next project? Get in touch.