A Guest Blog By David Best
“The Accessibility Interface is the saddle, the stirrups, and the reins. The User Experience is the feeling you get being able to ride the horse.” – Dain Miller, Director of development and technology, educational podcaster, product manager, and ruby/rails consultant
Enabling independence
When small businesses think about serving customers with disabilities, the first concept that often comes to mind is accessibility. That’s a good start, but accessibility alone isn’t enough. To truly enable independence—and to expand your market reach, you also need to think about usability. Accessibility ensures people can enter the door. Usability ensures they can participate fully and independently once inside. Together, they create meaningful customer experiences that build loyalty and trust.
Design is not necessarily inclusive. Goodwill and best intentions alone will not achieve expectations; deliberate action is vital. Design is all around us, but for the most part it reflects the perception of the designer, and if the product or service fails needs, then the design concepts are flawed. Good design is a bridge spanning barriers between the delivery of information and the understanding of knowledge impacting life decisions. Which is to say, careful, considerate design can be the bridge between accessibility and usability in creating an effective and memorable user experience.
Accessibility: the technical baseline
Accessibility is about meeting the technical standards that allow people with disabilities to access your digital products and services. These are usually defined by regulations and laws, such as:
- WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) – Global standards for websites and apps.
- ADA (U.S.) / AODA (Ontario, Canada) – Laws that require digital and physical accessibility.
- Standards covering screen reader compatibility, captions, keyboard navigation, and color contrast.
Key Question Accessibility Answers: Can someone with a disability get in the door (physically or digitally)
Usability: the customer experience factor
Usability goes a step further. It’s about how effective, efficient, and satisfying the experience is once someone gains access. Unlike accessibility, usability isn’t about passing compliance tests—it’s about ensuring independence and smooth task completion. Examples:
- A form may be accessible with labels, but if it has 10 confusing steps, it’s not usable.
- A video may include captions, but if they are riddled with errors, it’s not usable.
Key Question Usability Answers: Can someone complete their goal easily, without extra help?
Why this matters for small businesses
Small businesses often assume accessibility compliance is “enough”. But going further into usability creates tangible business benefits:
- Market Growth: Over 1 billion people globally live with disabilities, representing trillions in disposable income.
- Customer Loyalty: Inclusive businesses are seen as trustworthy, socially responsible, and people remember brands that respect their needs.
- Competitive Advantage: Many competitors stop at minimal compliance. Focusing on usability sets your business apart
Operational strategies for small businesses
No automated evaluation tool can tell you if your site is accessible, or even compliant. Human testing is always necessary because accessibility is about the human experience. Accessibility evaluation is often limited to assessing conformance to accessibility standards,
according to legal requirements or a defined business best practice. However, when the focus is only on the technical aspects of accessibility, the human interaction aspect can be lost. Many of the web page accessibility checks require human judgment and must be evaluated manually using different techniques. Even with limited resources, small businesses can take practical steps to blend accessibility and usability:
1. Adopt Accessibility Standards
- Follow WCAG guidelines when building websites or apps.
- Ensure documents, menus, and forms work with assistive technologies.
2. Simplify & Streamline
- Reduce unnecessary steps in purchasing, booking, or registration.
- Write in plain language with clear labels.
3. Test with Real Users
- Involve people with disabilities early, not just at the end.
- Run small usability tests — real users reveal barriers audits miss.
4. Train Your Team
- Teach staff to respectfully serve customers with disabilities.
- Make customer support accessible (email, chat, and phone relay systems).
5. Think Universally
- Apply Universal Design principles—design for everyone from the start.
- Example: A captioned video helps deaf customers, ESL learners, and anyone in a noisy café.
Usability best practice checklist
Here’s a simple checklist to ensure you move beyond compliance into true usability:
- Meets WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA standards.
- Real users with disabilities are involved in design and testing.
- Plain language, meaningful alt text, and clear navigation are standard.
- Tasks are efficient and can be completed with minimal steps.
- Consistency across devices—mobile, desktop, and kiosks.
- Errors are explained clearly, with solutions provided.
- Products are tested regularly with diverse disability groups.
- Accessibility and usability are built into ongoing quality assurance, not one-time audits.
Conclusion
Accessibility ensures people with disabilities can enter your business. Usability ensures they can participate fully and independently. Together, they unlock true independence for your customers—while giving your business stronger loyalty, a wider market, and a competitive edge. Building with accessibility and usability in mind isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s also smart business.
Read David’s other posts in this series:
David Best is a digital communication strategist who helps organizations improve productivity, scalability, and market reach through innovation and inclusive design. With a degree in software engineering and experience at IBM Canada, he has developed performance-driven strategies that enable businesses to access untapped markets and strengthen customer engagement through digital accessibility. Blinded in childhood, David combines lived experience with technical expertise, making him a recognized speaker and facilitator who challenges leaders to rethink how they engage both talent and customers with disabilities. His approach demonstrates how accessibility not only removes barriers but also creates measurable value and competitive advantage. Guided by the belief that investing in people builds resilient organizations and stronger communities, David equips businesses with the tools to thrive in an increasingly diverse marketplace.
Profile: About David Best https://www.bestaccessibility.consulting/about-david-best/
LinkedIn: Connect with David https://www.linkedin.com/in/davebest99/?originalSubdomain=ca
Podcast: Practical Accessibility Insights https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/practical-accessibility/
Top 10 Leading Speakers to Follow in 2025 https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/top-10-leading-speakers-to-follow-in-2025/ar-AA1O2Yya
