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Why software houses hold the key to Digital Accessibility (and why it’s time to step up)

Are we actually building a web for everyone? The overlooked power of software houses


Picture this: you launch a sleek EdTech app, carefully designed with student engagement in mind, only to discover a major chunk of your audience can’t use it. Maybe it’s the viral AI chatbot that doesn’t work with screen readers. Maybe it’s an online grade book that’s a labyrinth for neurodivergent teachers.


Despite years of progress in user experience, digital accessibility is too often an afterthought, especially for software development consultancies building products at scale for education, government, and business.


But what if usability wasn’t just good practice, but an ethical and legal imperative? For EdTech, digital transformation, and AI-powered learning platforms, the stakes of accessibility couldn’t be higher.


Let’s unpack why software houses (like ours) hold unusual leverage in shaping accessible futures and why our sector must become not just aware, but activist, about accessibility.


Why Accessibility matters now more than ever?


Three accelerating trends are making digital accessibility a critical issue for education technology and all digital services:


  • Regulatory pressure: Countries worldwide are reinforcing standards like WCAG 2.1 and introducing big fines for non-compliance (see the landmark Netflix and Domino’s lawsuits).


  • Diversity of users: The pandemic-driven shift to remote learning surfaced the invisible barriers faced by millions: students with visual or motor disabilities, teachers with cognitive differences, parents accessing platforms from outdated devices.


  • AI and automation: The rise of machine learning models in EdTech (automated grading, adaptive content) introduces new bias risks not just in pedagogy, but in how accessible these tools are to all learners.


Yet, despite these shifts, accessibility is rarely embedded into the core development cycle. As evidenced by UX Design’s deep-dive, development teams tend to view accessibility as mere “compliance checks” at the end if at all.


Software houses - Sleeping Giants of Accessibility


It’s easy to assume that the onus is on product owners or the public sector to demand accessibility. The reality? The software consultancies - the “houses” - coding these systems are the gatekeepers.


Here’s why:


  • They build much of the infrastructure of modern EdTech and enterprise digital platforms, often white-labeling solutions for dozens or hundreds of organizations.


  • They guide and translate client requirements into technical roadmaps and influence architectural, UI, and workflow decisions from day one.


  • Without their proactive leadership, accessibility tends to be neglected, deprioritized, or misunderstood as ‘just a frontend concern’.


Consider the real-world case analyzed by Smashing Magazine, where a major university’s new learning platform was only evaluated for accessibility after rollout, leading to retrofits so costly that the project’s ROI (and reputation) suffered.


Demystifying Accessibility - not just for the vision impaired


Accessibility is often reduced to alt-text and screen reader support. In education, the user base is infinitely diverse:


  • Students and staff who rely on keyboard navigation due to mobility impairments.

  • Teachers with dyslexia who benefit from clear labeling, flexible font sizing, and spaced layouts.

  • Neurodivergent learners who need adjustable color contrasts, animation controls, or consistent navigation metaphors.

  • Parents learning English as a second language, struggling with jargon-heavy interfaces or lack of clear feedback.

Many accessibility failures disproportionately affect marginalized groups. For EdTech software houses, this is not just a QA checklist; it is central to equity and inclusion.

The five mistakes (and opportunities) for software houses


1. Accessibility as an afterthought


Waiting until the end of a project to add accessibility is like nailing a ramp onto a finished school. It’s rarely functional, always more expensive, and signals to users that their needs are an ‘optional extra.’ Embed accessibility in architecture, not just in QA.


2. Relying on checklists (not people)


Automated tools can spot color contrast glitches, but will miss critical workflow barriers. Involve real disabled users, teachers, and students in UX testing. Learn from their lived experiences—something automated tools, as underscored by Wired, cannot replicate.


3. Assuming Accessibility is just for the frontend


PDF generation, email communications, AI assistants, and database search - all can be inaccessible if backend design misses semantic markup, ARIA attributes, metadata, or alternative path logic. Every layer counts.


4. Not up-skilling teams


Dev teams are typically unfamiliar with screen reader navigation, WCAG nuances, ARIA landmarks, or the accessibility bugs lurking in new JavaScript frameworks. Training and mentorship programs, like the approach outlined in UX Design, are vital to creating a culture of inclusion by default.


5. Not Advocating to Clients


Many clients (especially in startups or education) are unaware of accessibility risks and will not budget for full compliance unless prompted. When software consultancies champion accessibility, making it a default part of their project proposals, they radically multiply their impact.


What’s the ROI? Business, Legal, and Human


Transitioning from reactive to proactive accessibility isn’t pure altruism. For software houses, the returns are substantial:


  • Market expansion: Unlock new user bases: students, educators, parents, previously locked out.

  • Risk reduction: Lower the risk of regulatory fines or bad PR (nearly 3,500 web accessibility lawsuits were filed in the US alone in 2023).

  • Futureproofing: As new regions (like the European Union) update their rules, accessible code is cheaper and quicker to update.

  • Recruitment edge: Inclusion is a top value for Millennial/ Gen-Z devs and educators, the people you most want to hire.

From awareness to implementation: the impact we have


Our impact as a software house goes beyond our immediate client base:


  • When we build accessible components and frameworks, we empower dozens of clients to meet user needs without expensive retrofits.


  • When we document accessibility as a priority, it ripples across procurement chains (public sector RFPs, EdTech integrations, vendor selections).


  • When we contribute accessibility improvements upstream (say, to open source libraries), we inspire the broader developer ecosystem.


Case in point: our recent work with a K-12 platform in Poland introduced robust keyboard navigation and dyslexia-friendly themes. Months later, we saw other educational vendors locally and globally referencing these patterns—we’re creating tides, not just waves.


For more examples, see our EdTech category blog posts and especially posts exploring the intersection of inclusion and software design. Our philosophy: what we choose to prioritize in implementation becomes tomorrow’s norm.


What should you rethink?

  • For software development teams: Put accessibility on the roadmap from day zero. Assign responsibility (just like security and QA). Celebrate accessibility wins.

  • For educators and education leaders: Ask vendors for accessibility documentation before signing contracts. Set expectations early; retrofitting is more costly than doing it right.

  • For product/startup founders: Treat accessibility as an MVP feature, not a version 2.0 nice-to-have. It will improve your business case, not just your optics.


And for software houses? It’s simple: Stop thinking of accessibility as someone else’s checklist. It’s our chance (and obligation) to set the bar, and to make a tangible difference in the lives of learners and teachers everywhere.


Will you lead or follow?


Accessibility isn’t charity. It’s not compliance box-ticking. In 2024, it’s central to ethical, user-centric software, and it sits squarely in the hands of those who design, code, test, and ship digital products every day. The impact of just one software house scaling inclusive practices, challenging old habits, and advocating to clients is more profound than most realize.


Will you lead in shaping a web for all, or follow the crowd only after it’s legally necessary? The choice is in the code you write, the standards you set, and the products you help the next generation of learners use.


For more insights about digital transformation in education, see:


Have thoughts on accessibility in software houses? Share your experiences, or let’s talk about building the next inclusive platform together.

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