Digital products are often designed with a narrow definition of the “typical” user in mind – someone who is able-bodied, tech-savvy, and operates under ideal conditions.
But in the real world, users are far more diverse. They may have visual impairments, limited mobility, temporary injuries, low-bandwidth connections, aging-related challenges, or cognitive differences.
When digital experiences aren’t built to reflect this diversity, the result is frustration, exclusion, and, of course, lost opportunity.
Inclusive design is a methodology that challenges this status quo. It focuses on building products and services that are usable by the widest possible range of people, regardless of ability, context, or circumstance.
Essentially, inclusive design is proactive, not reactive. It goes beyond basic accessibility by embracing human variety as a core design driver.
In this guide, we’ll explore what inclusive design really means, how it differs from accessibility, and how your organization can start putting it into practice, using proven principles, real-world examples, and actionable steps.
Inclusive design is a design methodology that creates products and experiences that can be used by as many people as possible, regardless of circumstance, ability, background, or environment.
It recognizes that human diversity is the norm – not the exception – and that good design must accommodate that diversity
Rather than treating inclusion as an afterthought or a checkbox, inclusive design starts by identifying and addressing barriers that might exclude users. It’s about designing with a deep understanding of the full spectrum of human needs, from permanent disabilities to temporary limitations (like a broken arm or noisy environment) and situational constraints (like bright sunlight or using a device with one hand).
Importantly, inclusive design isn’t just for people with disabilities; it benefits everyone. For example, captions help people with hearing impairments, but they’re also useful for watching videos in public spaces. And voice input aids users with mobility impairments, but is now mainstream in mobile UX.
Inclusive design isn’t just a feel-good initiative; it’s a critical strategy for building better digital products. When done well, it leads to improved usability, stronger brand trust, and broader market reach.
At a societal level, inclusive design helps make sure that people aren’t left behind due to disability, age, language, or context. It’s a way to reduce digital inequality, uphold human rights, and create fairer experiences for everyone.
Globally, over 1.3 billion people live with some form of disability (WHO, 2023). Add to that users with temporary limitations, older adults, or low-tech environments – and the number of people who benefit from inclusive design grows exponentially.
Designing for inclusivity doesn’t narrow your scope; it actually opens your product to more people, more use cases, and more markets.
When you reduce cognitive load, simplify interfaces, or clarify instructions, you’re not just helping edge-case users, you’re improving the experience for all. Inclusive products tend to be cleaner, more intuitive, and easier to use.
Inclusive design principles often overlap with accessibility standards like WCAG, which are the foundation for laws like the European Accessibility Act and the ADA. Embedding inclusion into your design process can help you stay compliant and reduce risk.
Inclusive design and accessibility are closely related, but they’re not interchangeable.
They work best together. Accessibility is a baseline. Inclusive design takes things further, ensuring your digital products are flexible, welcoming, and effective for the widest possible audience.
Inclusive design is guided by a set of core principles that help teams build products that serve the full range of human diversity. These principles can be used as both a design lens and a decision-making framework, no matter the size of your team or product.
Let’s take a look at the most widely recognized principles:
Start by identifying who might be left out of your experience. Exclusion happens when we assume all users are the same, able-bodied, fluent in the product language, using modern hardware, or always online. Use empathy interviews, analytics, and testing to uncover pain points and edge cases.
Example: Designing a sign-up form that assumes every user has a last name, excluding users from cultures where that’s not the norm.
Designing for individuals with specific needs often benefits everyone. This principle flips the idea of “edge case” on its head by treating these cases as innovation drivers.
Example: Voice input helps users with limited mobility, but also benefits users cooking, commuting, or multitasking.
Inclusive design teams actively seek input from people of different backgrounds, abilities, languages, and contexts. Feedback from diverse users results in better-informed, more effective design decisions.
Example: When YouTube redesigned its mobile app, it included users with ADHD and dyslexia in testing. Their feedback highlighted how cluttered comment sections made it hard to focus.
As a result, YouTube introduced a collapsible comment section and simplified the layout – changes that improved the experience for everyone, not just users with cognitive differences.
Users might interact with your product differently, but they should get the same core value.
Example: A video should offer both captions and transcripts so users with hearing loss or slower internet can still access the content.
Give users options to personalize or adapt their experience based on preference or need.
Example: Letting users adjust text size, toggle animation, or select dark mode.
Use simple language, consistent layouts, and familiar interaction patterns to reduce cognitive load.
Example: Clear error messages that explain what went wrong and how to fix it.
Inclusive design isn’t theoretical, it’s already improving experiences for millions of people across industries. Here are a few standout examples of how organizations have embraced inclusive design in the real world:
The UK government’s digital services platform is a model of clarity and accessibility:
This approach benefits not only users with disabilities but also non-native English speakers, older adults, and people with slow connections.
Microsoft’s inclusive design toolkit has shaped products like the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which was created with direct input from gamers with limited mobility.
Apple integrates inclusive features into the core of its products:
These tools are beneficial to users with disabilities, and also useful to people who simply prefer different interaction styles.
These examples show that inclusive design isn’t just about compliance – it’s about creating products people love to use, regardless of their needs.
Inclusive design doesn’t just make digital products more usable for people with disabilities – it leads to better experiences for all users.
Why? Because inclusive design principles focus on clarity, flexibility, and removing friction – goals that align perfectly with great UX.
Such as:
Simpler interfaces, consistent navigation, and clear language help users complete tasks faster and with less confusion. That’s especially important for users with cognitive or learning differences – but it benefits everyone, especially under pressure or on mobile.
Designs that adapt to different screen sizes, input methods, and internet speeds are essential for people with limited access, and also crucial for global audiences, mobile-first users, and multitaskers.
Clear error messages, flexible interactions (e.g., voice, keyboard, mouse), and intuitive layouts reduce user frustration and dropout rates, improving satisfaction and conversion.
When products are inclusive by default, they reach more people – across abilities, languages, and cultures – leading to increased trust and market growth.
In short, inclusive design is great UX, scaled to real-world diversity.
Inclusive design isn’t a one-time project, it’s a mindset that should be woven into every stage of your product development lifecycle. Here’s how your organization can start building more inclusive digital experiences, step by step:
Begin by identifying friction points in your existing website or app. Use both automated tools and manual testing to assess:
Don’t rely on assumptions. Engage users with a range of abilities, backgrounds, languages, and devices in your UX research, user interviews, and us
Their feedback will highlight problems – and reveal better design solutions you may not have considered.
Help your designers, developers, and content creators understand what inclusive design looks like in practice. Build internal guidelines, share resources, and encourage team-wide ownership.
Update your component library to include accessible UI patterns, alt text conventions, contrast rules, and responsive behavior. The more baked-in it is, the easier it is to scale.
Use real devices and assistive technologies to evaluate inclusivity throughout the development process, not just at launch.
Despite its clear benefits, inclusive design can feel challenging to implement, especially for small teams or organizations without in-house accessibility expertise.
Here are some of the most common barriers and how to move past them:
Reality: Inclusive design becomes costly when it’s an afterthought. But when it’s embedded from the start – during research, design, and development – it saves time and prevents expensive retrofits.
Solution: Adopt a “design for inclusion by default” mindset. Use inclusive templates and test early to avoid costly changes later.
Reality: You don’t need to be an expert in usability to get started.
Solution: Use publicly available resources, tools like contrast checkers or screen reader emulators, and consult toolkits like Microsoft’s Inclusive Design Guide. When in doubt, start small and iterate.
Reality: The only real mistake is not trying. Inclusive design is a process of learning, testing, and improving.
Solution: Get feedback from diverse users, document your decisions, and be transparent about your intent. Progress is better than perfection.
Inclusive design extends beyond layout and color contrast, it’s just as much about the language, structure, and interaction patterns you use.
Here are some key practices to apply across your digital content and user interfaces:
Whether you’re just starting out or scaling inclusive practices across your team, the right tools can help you move faster and smarter. Here’s a selection of practical resources to guide your journey:
Inclusive design isn’t just about checking accessibility boxes, it’s about building better, more usable products for everyone. By intentionally designing for a wider range of needs and contexts, your team can deliver experiences that are more effective, more empathetic, and more aligned with how people actually live and work.
It starts with a shift in mindset – and continues through research, collaboration, and iteration.