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Shift left

Moving accessibility work earlier in a project, into design and development, instead of fixing it after launch.

Also called
shift-left

Shift left is a phrase borrowed from software testing. Picture a project timeline running left to right, from idea to design to build to launch. Shifting accessibility left means doing it near the start, where a label is a few words and a color choice is free, instead of at the end, where every fix touches a live product with customers on it.

In practice it means designers check contrast and focus states in their mockups, developers run automated tests on every change, product managers write accessibility into acceptance criteria, and an evaluation happens before launch rather than after a complaint. It is how teams keep accessibility cheap, and the reason to start before the next feature rather than after it.

Definition of done
A team’s checklist for when a piece of work is finished, which needs to include accessibility.
Accessible by default
Setting up tools, templates, and components so that the quickest way to build something produces accessible results without extra effort.
Design system
A shared set of components, colors, type, and rules that a team builds products from, where accessibility can be set once.

Get help with every step.

We can work with organizations of every size and industry, from a startup serving its first customers to a bank. We find where you stand, help your team fix what matters, and keep checking as your product changes. That work is evidence of your effort, not a legal guarantee.

Talk to us about a first stepSee our services