Accessibility
Accessibility ensures the same rights and resources are available to as many people as possible regardless of disability.
It is strongly linked to Universal Design which tries to ensure direct access is available to everyone without the use of assistive technology. While usability generally improves with accessibility the two terms should not be confused.
The Equality Act is anticipatory of accessibility meaning it is the law to ensure a website has accessible services for disabled people in advance of whether or not disabled people will use that website.
It may be unlawful to create a Website with links, forms, information and security procedures which are not accessible to a screen reader.
The law also protects partially sighted users from websites that use text, colour contrasting and formatting to make a website inaccessible and those with hearing impediments to have access to subtitled and translated texts.
The law specifically gives these rights to disabled people using UK websites in the fields of employment, education, e-commerce, property, and public bodies.
There are a range of ways to ensure your Website is accessible, including (X) HTML and CSS validation from WC3.
Nevertheless, accessibility within IT and professional and legal issues extends beyond Websites.
Many software companies and operating systems ensure they abide by and exceed the requirements of general laws or internal and external codes of ethics.