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As our world becomes more digitized, website accessibility is becoming increasingly important.

It allows people with disabilities to access to the same information and services that are available to everyone else, such as news articles, government services, health services, online banking, employment seeking, online shopping, and much more. Making websites accessible ensures that everyone has equal access to online content. 

According to the World Health Organization and the CDC, 16% of the world's population (about 1 billion people), and 26% of the U.S. population (around 86 million people), have a disability, which can include physical, sensory, cognitive, and intellectual disabilities. That means they may be unable to access websites that are not designed with accessibility in mind. With such a large portion of the population affected by disabilities, it is imperative for websites to be designed with accessibility in mind, including those with disabilities of all kinds. 

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has developed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) which outline four main principles of website accessibility and lay the foundation necessary for all users to access Web content. According to the WCAG, to make web content accessible it must be: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. These principles are designed to ensure that websites are accessible to all users, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. 

Perceivable: Web content must be presented in a way that users are able to perceive. In other words, it can't be invisible to all of their senses. 

Operable: Web content must be presented in a way that users are able to operate. In other words, the interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform.  

Understandable: Web content must be presented in a way that users are able to understand the informtion as well as the operation of the user interface. In other words, users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface. 

Robust: Web content must enable access for users as technologies advance. In other words, as technologies and user agents evolve, the content should remain accessible. 

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) covers a wide range of recommendations for making Web content more accessible. Following these guidelines will include a wider range of people with disabilities in accessing web content on desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. An added benefit is that following these guidelines will also make Web content generally more usable to all users.