Vertical platform lifts allow people to connect areas of different elevation throughout their home. In the residential environment these valuable devices are most often found at the entrance to the home. The front steps, especially in older homes, are often steep, narrow, and hard to navigate. A vertical platform lift or wheelchair lift, as it is often called, can bridge this gap and return the freedom you used to have when you were younger. Vertical platform lifts offer what is commonly referred to as either adjacent-access or straight-through access. The differences are explained below.
The type of access refers to the way a user will enter and exit the vertical platform lift. This is an important consideration that should be made before you purchase the lift because often it must be configured by the manufacturer. Adjacent-access is when you enter the vertical platform lift, turn (usually) 90 degrees to the left or right and exit the lift. This is similar to how you exit a car. Pretend that enter a cargo van by walking through the back door. When it comes time to exit the van you turn to your right and open the side door. This setup can save space.
Straight-through access as the name implies refers to when you enter the lift and exit it by moving in the same direction. Think of it like a bridge. You enter the bridge from one side and go straight across the bridge never changing direction to exit on the other side. This design takes up more space, but for many is a more natural way of entering and exiting the vertical platform lift.

Now that you have a good idea of the different types of access it is a good idea to take a look and see what will work best for you. If you are planning on using your vertical platform lift to traverse your exterior stairs and you have a narrow landing than you will probably want to get an adjacent-access vertical platform lift. If you are planning to get a vertical platform lift that will raise individuals onto a stage or pulpit than a straight-through access vertical platform lift is probably for you.