Learn the best ways to make your website accessible to everyone. Don’t miss out on potential clients because you’re not following these simple steps.
The internet provides an abundance of information and, when it’s functioning optimally, it’s easily accessible to people with diverse hearing, sight, and cognitive abilities. Therefore, when it comes to web development, it’s crucial to ensure that your website is “web accessible.”
In this post, we’ll provide a comprehensive rundown of web accessibility, why it’s so important, and how you can implement it on your website.
Why Is Web Accessibility Important?
The web has become an integral part of our daily lives, including for business, education, recreational activities, and even healthcare. Web accessibility gives everyone equal opportunity and access to the web, regardless of any physical disability someone may or may not have. Making your business more accessible to people with disabilities has been proven to increase sales.
Creating a web-accessible website not only benefits individuals with disabilities but also enhances the overall user experience for everyone who visits your site. To learn more about the unexpected advantages of having an accessible website, check out this article on 5 Surprising Advantages of an Accessible Website.
While there are ways to make your website more web-accessible, there are also U.S. government policies that you must follow to ensure your website is accessible. These simple checkpoints are easy to abide by and follow the Section 508 guidelines in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which can be found here. In many situations, web accessibility is required by law.
What Does “Web Accessible” Mean?
Web accessible refers to how easy it is for people with disabilities to use your website. These disabilities could be related to sight, hearing, physical ability, or neurological differences. While making your website web accessible will make it more user-friendly for people with disabilities, it can also help people without disabilities with other factors, such as:
- People using smart devices or those with small screens
- Older people and changing abilities that come with aging
- People with “temporary disabilities” such as a broken arm
- Situational limitations like bright light or a noisy environment.
When it comes to making your website web accessible, there are many factors to consider. Remember that web accessibility is meant to include everyone, regardless of their disability. Things like:
- Video captions – This allows people with auditory disabilities to watch a video and understand what’s going on. YouTube captions are a perfect example.
- Good color contrast – Text, buttons, or any other imagery must be visible to those who might be visually impaired.
- Voice recognition – Voice recognition allows people with physical disabilities to access the web without using their hands. This makes it simple for people to order something that may be a necessity. It may also help people with a temporary disability such as a broken arm.
- Text-to-speech – For anyone who is blind or has a condition like dyslexia, text-to-speech is an excellent alternative to level the playing field for those who may be visually impaired.
- Clear layout and design – A clear layout makes it easy for anyone with any type of disability that may impair their navigation or who may not be confident around computers.
- Quick notifications and feedback – Proper notifications and feedback can make your website a seamless experience for your user. Simple things like “order received” put peace of mind on the user.
- Large links or buttons – Large buttons and fonts make it easy for anyone to use the web. This can also be helpful for anyone using a mobile device.
Need more context on what web accessible means? Click here for a full video breakdown.
Making Your Website Web Accessible
Making your website accessible to everyone is not only the right thing to do, it’s also good for your business.
In many cases, it’s easy to understand and implement web accessibility solutions. For instance, you can change your browser settings to ensure your website is accessible.
Other web accessibility projects can be more complex, requiring in-depth coding solutions. You can find a helpful Web Accessibility Overview at this link.
Key takeaways:
Web accessibility is crucial if you want to create a website that stands out in the vastness of the internet. The first step is to make your website simple, easy-to-read, and easy-to-navigate.
Here are some simple tips to ensure web accessibility:
- Use clear buttons
- Ensure good color contrast
- Provide text-to-speech and voice recognition options
If you realize that more in-depth work is required, you may need to seek website maintenance services or technical support.
If you enjoyed this content and are looking for other helpful information to improve your business’s performance, check out the blog section for more resources.
