Accessibility

Accessibility means designing and developing digital products with a wide range of needs and abilities in mind. This ensures that as many people as possible can use your service easily and effectively. Accessibility is not an add-on, but one of the foundations of our design and development practices at Qvik. We'll be happy to help you create new, inclusive products or improve the accessibility of the ones you already have.

Accessibility has gained traction in recent years. In addition to legal requirements, companies have realized the potential of expanding market reach, committing to inclusion, and striving for innovation and competitive advantage. Accessibility provides a comprehensive approach to creating an improved user experience for all.

When it comes to legal compliance, accessibility is especially timely. The European Accessibility Act will takes full effect on 28 June 2025, requiring many digital services – including websites, apps, and e-commerce stores – to meet specific accessibility standards. While public sector compliance began earlier, the law will now extend to much of the private sector, including banks, transportation, telecom, media, and e-commerce.

This is how we work with accessibility

We'll work accessibility into every layer of your digital product. This means ensuring your design is visually clear, structured and intuitive, while your code clearly conveys its intent and function. If applicable, we'll also help you integrate accessibility into your design system. We also always recommend working with users with lived experience while creating or improving a service.

We build with accessibility in mind from the start

We’ve been following accessibility standards for years, and always recommend that our clients build their products accordingly. This applies to both design and development. Our designers create UI's that are easy to understand and navigate, use clear contrasts and sizes for better readability, and ensure proper use of audio and video. Our developers are responsible for writing structured code, tagged with specific labels that support screen readers and keyboard navigation.

We see it as our responsibility to raise awareness on how small changes can make a product accessible to many more people – even if it sometimes means slightly adjusting a specific design idea. The great thing is that a clear and comprehensible product benefits everyone!

"Accessibility starts with recognizing that not everyone uses or experiences the world like you do – good design bridges those differences, making products usable, relatable, and desirable for all."

Jesse Ukkonen, Principal Product Designer, Design Lead

Start small and build consistency

Accessibility is a journey, and every improvement matters. If you're just getting started, the world of requirements might seem intimidating. But fear not, we’ll help you prioritize changes and build a roadmap, effectively weaving all changes into your process – so that next time they'll be there by default.

Accessibility audit

If you want to improve the accessibility of your existing products, you can start by having us audit them. We assess your product’s design, content, and code – checking usability with assistive technologies and identifying both quick wins and structural issues.

Report, recommendations, implementation

Once we've finished analysis, we'll offer hands-on support for improving the accessibility of your service. You’ll get a clear, actionable report: what’s working, what needs improvement, and how to fix it. Finally, our experienced designers and developers are ready to help you make the changes – not just identify them.

"Accessibility influences every single decision I make when designing user interfaces. It is good design, and along with usability, it forms the foundation of a great user experience for all users."

Anu Vuokko, Senior Product Designer, Design Lead, Accessibility & Inclusive Design

Beyond checklists – accessibility as an experience

While we follow international standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and understand the legal requirements defined by EU legislation, our approach goes further. Accessibility isn’t just about compliance, but about creating positive experiences for real people.

Following the law is a baseline, yet our aim is to help you go beyond minimum requirements and build truly inclusive products that serve all your users, including those with cognitive, visual, auditory, motor, or situational limitations.

Here are some examples of how accessible design and development choices improve usability

Screen readers understand the content

Content is written and coded so it can be read aloud and navigated using assistive technologies.

Colors have sufficient contrast

To make your digital product usable for people with low vision or e.g. color blindness, your interfaces have sufficient contrast.

You can pause moving content

Videos, audio, and animations that play automatically for more than three seconds cab be paused, stopped or adjusted.

Text size is adjustable

Users are able to zoom or increase text size in your service without breaking the layout, e.g. content clashing or hiding behind another element.

Navigation works without a mouse

Users are able to navigate your digital product using only a keyboard. You can test this yourself by using the tab key together with the enter key.

Buttons are descriptive

While you could just say "Read more" on a button, without context, it's unclear what you're supposed to read more about. Clear labels help everyone understand what actions do, which is especially important for screen readers. So instead, you could say e.g. "Read more about app development"

Images have explanatory, alternative texts

Visual content is also explained in descriptive text so it's understandable even without being seen.

Audio and video content is transcribed

Transcripts and captions support users who are deaf or hard of hearing, and are useful in noisy or silent environments too.

Accessibility is not about limitations. It’s about clarity, usability, and creating with intention. It makes your product stronger, more resilient, and more future-proof.

At Qvik, we don’t treat accessibility as a compliance checkbox, but as one of the backbones of quality digital products. We’ll support you in building an inclusive, intuitive service.

Would you like to talk about accessibility with me?

Robert Seege, Director of Account Management

Hi, Bobby here! I’d love to help you on your journey towards an accessible digital product. Book a meeting with me for an initial consultation and see if we can be the right partner for you.

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