In the midst of designing, editing, and optimizing your website you may have forgotten a critical component – accessibility. In order for your website to be considered accessible, it has to be usable for those with disabilities.
Imagine if a person with cognitive or visual impairment was trying to read or interact with your website. Would they be able to navigate the pages and understand the content?
Keep reading to find out more about website accessibility and how to achieve it for your website.
What Is Website Accessibility?
As mentioned above, website accessibility refers to the design and development of a website so that it can be used by all people. Most often when people refer to website accessibility they are talking about if and how the website could be used by people with disabilities.
But website accessibility is also for older adults, people with limited internet access, and those with limited literacy. It’s in the best interest of the business and the website users if a website is accessible.
The website accessibility initiative (WAI) provides companies and web developers with the tools needed to create or optimize a website to be more accessible.
Website Accessibility Standards
In order to meet the standards of website accessibility, your website must meet the criteria outlined in this website accessibility checklist. This is sometimes referred to as web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG). In this case, content means the information on the site (words, images videos) as well as the presentation of the information.
The standards are detailed and cover accessibility for all groups of people. There are milestones included to walk through each step of becoming an accessible website too.
The guidelines encourage businesses to think about how differently-abled people can access the content or buy goods and services from the website.
How to Create an Accessible Website
The content, design, and coding of your website should be built with accessibility in mind. Choosing titles, fonts, colors, and images carefully is a good place to start. Once you have a website drafted, you can start testing your website.
The best way to ensure your website is accessible is to test it with individuals with disabilities. Gather feedback from them and make adjustments as needed.
If you’re looking for more information on creating an accessible website, check out our upcoming webinars.
Benefits of Website Accessibility
The benefits of website accessibility are for users and businesses alike. As the owner of a business, you want to increase your potential clientele as much as possible.
And for those with disabilities, website accessibility allows them to use the internet for education, e-commerce, and entertainment.
Create a Superior Website Experience for Everyone
Now you know more about the criteria of website accessibility, the benefits of it, and how to build one. So it’s time to take action on your website.
You can use the resources mentioned above to gauge the progress of your website and test it with users before going live. Remember that website accessibility is beneficial for everyone involved.
If you need help with your website accessibility or other marketing technology, contact us and see how we can help your business succeed.
