{"id":276872,"date":"2019-10-27T19:59:40","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T02:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcnews&p=276872"},"modified":"2025-04-22T13:13:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T20:13:31","slug":"at-esri-accessibility-is-a-user-focused-endeavor","status":"publish","type":"arcnews","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/at-esri-accessibility-is-a-user-focused-endeavor","title":{"rendered":"At Esri, Accessibility Is a User-Focused Endeavor"},"author":5752,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[386932,10382,10802],"tags":[20422,174092,12172,241,152552],"arcnews_issues":[387012],"class_list":["post-276872","arcnews","type-arcnews","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-accessibility","category-esri-technology","category-software","tag-arcgis-pro","tag-arcmap","tag-developers","tag-gis","tag-training","arcnews_issues-fall-2019","arcnews_sections-esri-technology"],"acf":{"short_description":"Esri\u2019s goal is to make GIS accessible to everyone, and that comes down to good product design and user-friendly features.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"In the United States, to ensure that people with disabilities can successfully use technology, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires that federal agencies develop, maintain, and use information and communications technology (ICT) that is accessible to people with disabilities. The guidelines encompass both hardware and software, urging the use of closed captioning for videos, for example, and having proper color contrast on web pages to increase readability."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Editor\u2019s note: The information in this article from 2019 has become outdated. Please find updated information on the Esri Accessibility<\/a> page. Esri plans to publish current guidance in the fall 2025 issue of ArcNews<\/em>.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Focusing on providing good product design and user-friendly features, Esri strives to improve accessibility to its software in accordance with Section 508 guidelines.\r\n\r\n\u201cAt Esri, our goal is to make GIS accessible to everyone,\u201d said Dirk Gorter, Esri\u2019s director of product management. \u201cTo that end, we design and implement our GIS products to be accessible to people regardless of their abilities.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

A Comprehensive Accessibility Strategy<\/h2>\r\nIn addition to adhering to Section 508 guidelines for US users, Esri complies with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for international customers with regard to both product development and maintenance. To increase accessibility, Esri supports the accessibility tools provided by standard operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, and builds special capabilities into GIS functions across its entire product line.\r\n\r\nEsri\u2019s comprehensive accessibility strategy includes the following:\r\n