Is your website accessible?
Over the past decade, I’ve had the benefit of working with two companies whose customers work with individuals and groups with cognitive, physical, or visual disabilities. This experience opened my eyes to a world I had never considered in the earlier stages of my career and a demographic that experiences the world differently and must work every day to interact, communicate, and learn with websites and media that most of us take for granted.
In an instance of synchronicity, my wife (a web developer and programmer) also took the lead on researching strategies for her employer to meet new legislation requiring her company to meet accessibility standards. We’ve spent many an evening over the last month discussing these new rules, researching guidelines, and trying to understand the world from the viewpoint of those with special needs.
Over the last week, I have also taken steps to partner with Accessibe.com to bring my customers’ websites into alignment with WCAG 2.1 standards. I’ve experienced empathy and clear mandates from my clients to do whatever I can to ensure that their sites are accessible to everyone. It was immediately understood that this was the right thing to do.
For others, idea of accessibility generated resistance for a variety of reasons, ranging from adoption, maintenance costs, and ROI to a general lack of understanding about what accessibility is, the reasons for legislation supporting its enforcement, and even a general discomfort about discussing the topic.
So what is accessibility?
Accessibility is the practice of designing and developing websites that are usable by everyone, regardless of their abilities, disabilities, or preferences. Accessibility is not only a legal requirement but also a moral and business responsibility, as it ensures that your website is inclusive, fair, and respectful of all your potential customers.
Building in accessibility to your business website can bring you many benefits, such as:
It can increase your reach and customer base — Building accessibility into your business website can increase your reach and customer base, allowing you to reach a wider and more diverse audience who might otherwise find themselves excluded or frustrated. According to the World Health Organization, there are over 1 billion people in the world who have a disability, and many more who have temporary or situational impairments, such as low vision, hearing loss, or slow internet connection. By making your website accessible, you can cater to their needs and preferences, and make them feel welcome and valued.
It can improve user experience (UX) and satisfaction — By building in accessibility into your business website, you can improve your user UX and satisfaction, by providing a website that is easy to use, understand, and navigate, regardless of the user’s device, browser, or assistive technology. You can also provide a website that is consistent, reliable, and error-free, and that meets the user’s expectations and goals. By doing so, you can enhance your brand reputation, loyalty, and retention.
It can boost your SEO and performance — Building in accessibility into your business website, you can boost your SEO and performance. Best practices and standards serve as your guidelines for accessibility, such as using semantic HTML, providing alt text for images, using descriptive headings and links, and optimizing your page speed and load time. These practices can help you improve your ranking, visibility, and traffic on search engines, as well as your conversion, sales, and revenue.
Looking for guidance and next steps? Here are some tips:
Follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) — The WCAG are the internationally recognized guidelines for web accessibility, developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The WCAG provides a set of principles, guidelines, and success criteria for making web content accessible to people with disabilities. You can use the WCAG as a reference and a checklist for building in accessibility into your business website.
Use accessibility tools and resources — There are many tools and resources available online that can help you test, evaluate, and improve the accessibility of your business website, such as web accessibility evaluation tools, browser extensions, screen readers, keyboard emulators, and color contrast checkers. You can use these tools and resources to identify and fix any accessibility issues or barriers on your website.
Involve your users and stakeholders — The best way to ensure that your business website is accessible is to involve your users and stakeholders in the design and development process, such as your customers, employees, partners, and suppliers. You can ask them for their feedback, opinions, and suggestions on your website, and test your website with them, using various devices, browsers, and assistive technologies. You can also hire or consult with accessibility experts, who can provide you with professional advice and guidance on your website.
By following these tips, you can build in accessibility into your business website, and enjoy the benefits of having a website that is usable by everyone, regardless of their abilities, disabilities, or preferences. If you’re reading this and are interested in Accessibe or want to learn more about what’s involved in making your website accessible to all potential users, please contact me for information and discounted rates.
