The State of Digital Accessibility for Developers
Accessibility delivers more competitive products.
Digital accessibility improves product quality and UX.
Developers today recognize that accessibility is simply good engineering. Professionals understand that accessible products provide users with a smoother experience—improving customer satisfaction and giving their organizations a competitive edge.
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95%
of engineering professionals say digital accessibility improves user experience (UX).
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91%
of engineering professionals say it improves customer satisfaction.
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93%
agree that prioritizing accessibility is a competitive advantage for their organization.
Early integration, scalable processes
Developers want to build accessibility in from the start—not fix it during quality assurance (QA) or after launch. When accessibility is a natural part of the development workflow, teams ship with fewer bugs, reducing time spent on remediation later. And it’s far more cost-effective to address accessibility proactively than reactively fix issues.
Shifting to a proactive approach also supports another common goal for developers—scaling accessibility. Because proactive development teams operate more efficiently, they can more easily ensure standards are met across apps, websites, and other digital products.
Proactivity and scalability are top priorities for developers.
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44%
of engineering professionals say approaching accessibility more proactively when creating new digital experiences is one of the top three priorities for their digital accessibility programs.
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48%
of engineering professionals say ensuring accessibility across all digital asset types (beyond websites) is one of the top three priorities for their programs.
What’s holding developers back—and how to move forward
While developers aspire to approach accessibility more proactively, our findings suggest that many teams are still retrofitting fixes. Resource-intensive reactive remediation, paired with inadequate tools, may contribute to a common challenge reported by development teams: limited time.
Development leaders can drive efficiency by equipping teams with tools that automate accessibility checks throughout the development life cycle and embed guidance and feedback into their existing workflows. Learn how our robust suite of developer tools and integrations can help your team reclaim valuable hours.
Teams lose time due to reactive workflows and inadequate tooling.
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19%
of engineering professionals—almost one in five—wait until QA or later to begin addressing digital accessibility.
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42%
rank “insufficient time to address accessibility issues” among the top three challenges limiting their digital accessibility progress.
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30%
consider “inadequate tools or services for addressing accessibility issues effectively” one of their top three challenges.
To accelerate impact, developers harness AI and expertise.
As they work toward addressing accessibility more efficiently and at scale, developers are embracing AI. But technology alone isn’t enough: training and support from experts are critical to long-term progress
Engineering teams adopt AI for streamlined, scalable accessibility.
Most developers say they’re already harnessing AI-powered tools in their accessibility work—and intelligent capabilities are also shaping their investments in new solutions. Ready to join them? Explore AI agents and capabilities built to speed up accessible development.
84%
of engineering professionals say they’re incorporating AI tools into their accessibility strategies
85%
agree that AI capabilities are key factors in their purchasing decisions when evaluating new digital accessibility solutions.
39%
list “using AI to automate and scale accessibility processes” as a top priority.
Training and expert support strengthen accessibility in development.
44%
of engineering professionals say accessibility training has been one of the most impactful steps their organization has taken toward improving accessibility.
48%
partner with accessibility consultants for technical guidance, program management, or legal support to strengthen their accessibility programs.
Key takeaways for development leaders
The trends in this data point to a clear direction for developers. The following actions can help development leaders embed accessibility more effectively and improve quality across their digital products.
1. Build accessibility into the development workflow from the start.
Reactive remediation slows teams down and increases risk. Integrating accessibility checks during development—not just during QA and / or after release—saves time, reduces costs, and results in more accessible products.
2. Equip teams with tools that bring accessibility directly into their workflows.
Developers lose time when accessibility sits outside of the tools and systems they’re already using. Embedded solutions, like CI/CD integrations, put accessibility data and guidance directly in developers’ existing workflows, eliminating context-switching and empowering teams to operate more proactively and efficiently.
3. Strengthen team capability with role-specific training.
Even when developers have the right tools, knowledge gaps can prevent teams from effectively addressing accessibility early in the SDLC. Role-specific training gives developers the skills they need to proactively apply accessibility best practices in their day-to-day work.
Build accessible products faster with Hybrid Intelligence.
Engineering leaders that invest in accessibility are achieving clear results—improved user experience, faster development cycles, and fewer accessibility bugs in production. But to make that progress sustainable, developers need a solution that combines intelligent tools with human expertise.
Level Access delivers that solution through our Hybrid Intelligence model, which brings together a unified platform, AI agents, and deep subject matter expertise.
Plus, our customers can access on-demand, role-specific training through the Level Access Academy to close knowledge gaps and embed accessibility into day-to-day workflows.