I was born with profound hearing loss. I wear a cochlear implant on my left ear. And for as long as I've been building software, I've known something that the industry is only starting to fully reckon with: accessibility isn't a feature — it's a foundation.
The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed in 1990, but the web was barely a concept then. The legal and moral obligations that apply to physical spaces have been slow to translate into digital ones. That's changing — and for those of us who've lived with assistive technology, it can't change fast enough.
What "Accessibility-First" Actually Means
Accessibility-first means you don't retrofit. You don't run a WCAG audit in the final week before launch and scramble to change color contrast ratios. You start with semantic HTML, proper ARIA landmarks, keyboard navigation, and skip-to-content links. You test with a screen reader before you test with a browser.
In practice, this makes your code better for everyone. Semantic structure improves SEO. Keyboard navigation benefits power users. High-contrast color ratios improve readability in bright sunlight. Accessibility and good engineering converge more often than they conflict.
The Business Case Is Already Settled
Over 1 billion people globally live with some form of disability. That's a market. And the litigation risk for inaccessible federal and enterprise software is real and growing. For government contractors especially, Section 508 compliance isn't optional — it's the contract.
I've seen teams treat accessibility as a checkbox. I've also seen teams treat it as a core value. The second group ships better software, serves more users, and doesn't get sued.
Where to Start
If you're not sure where to begin, start here: can you navigate your entire application using only a keyboard? If the answer is no, you have work to do. From there, run an axe or Lighthouse audit, fix your heading hierarchy, add alt text, and ensure your color contrast ratios meet WCAG 2.1 AA minimums.
It's not a one-time fix. It's a practice. And it's worth it.