March 15, 2023

The Importance of Inclusive Platform Design

By
Nick Armstrong

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is an important civil rights law that all US-based companies must comply with. At Rocket Travel by Agoda, we develop travel booking platforms that are used by customers all over the world, so our teams take these laws into special consideration for all of our travel verticals.

The best user experience for all

In order to develop platforms that are inclusive and compliant with these laws, Rocket Travel by Agoda follows the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0, standards A and AA to ensure we provide the best user experience to all. Our teams take a mature and rigid approach on how we construct our existing user interface and tailor it to meet the appropriate standards for this multi-vertical platform.

We begin by checking the coding for styling to ensure it is compliant for ADA. Our teams utilize an extensive testing process to identify opportunities to improve our platform, then review, fix and test styling to ensure the user interface is optimized to current WCAG standards. Some of the accessibility features that customers can find on our platforms include:

  • Improved navigation by tabbing
  • Alt text for images to support screen readers
  • Enhancing user interface to support browser zoom and resizing

Not only do these product enhancements provide a better shopping experience for customers looking to book travel, they also ensure our existing partners and future partners have the ability to remain compliant and more effectively serve all of their customers.  

We are also proud to say that our trusted hotel, car and flight suppliers have confidence knowing that travelers shopping on our platforms will have a completely transparent booking experience long before they appear at their flight, hotel, or car rental agency.

In order to develop platforms that are inclusive and compliant with these laws, Rocket Travel by Agoda follows the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0, standards A and AA to ensure we provide the best user experience to all. Our teams take a mature and rigid approach on how we construct our existing user interface and tailor it to meet the appropriate standards for this multi-vertical platform.

We begin by checking the coding for styling to ensure it is compliant for ADA. Our teams utilize an extensive testing process to identify opportunities to improve our platform, then review, fix and test styling to ensure the user interface is optimized to current WCAG standards. Some of the accessibility features that customers can find on our platforms include:

  • Improved navigation by tabbing
  • Alt text for images to support screen readers
  • Enhancing user interface to support browser zoom and resizing

Not only do these product enhancements provide a better shopping experience for customers looking to book travel, they also ensure our existing partners and future partners have the ability to remain compliant and more effectively serve all of their customers.  

We are also proud to say that our trusted hotel, car and flight suppliers have confidence knowing that travelers shopping on our platforms will have a completely transparent booking experience long before they appear at their flight, hotel, or car rental agency.

About the author

Nick Armstrong is the Vice President of Product at Rocket Travel by Agoda. With more than ten years of experience in travel technology, he leads the team of engineers responsible for prioritizing platform enhancements to drive growth to Rocket Travel by Agoda and our partners.