Opening the Digital Door for Everyone: Understanding Website Accessibility

Simply Put

Imagine trying to read a book with blurry text, or listening to a conversation in a crowded room where you can barely make out the words. Frustrating, right? That's a glimpse into the challenges many people face when using websites that aren't designed with accessibility in mind.

Simply put, website accessibility means making your website usable by as many people as possible, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. It's about ensuring that everyone, including individuals with visual, auditory, cognitive, motor, or other impairments, can navigate, understand, and interact with your online content without encountering barriers.  But what is web accessibility?

https://www.audioeye.com/post/what-is-website-accessibility/

Think of it like building a physical space. You wouldn't build a store with only stairs and no ramp, right? That would exclude people who use wheelchairs or have mobility issues. Website accessibility is the digital equivalent of that ramp, the wider doorways, and the clear signage.

Why is web accessibility important?

Making your website accessible offers a multitude of benefits:

• Wider Audience Reach: By removing barriers, you open your website to a significantly larger audience, including the millions of people with disabilities.
• Improved User Experience for Everyone: Many accessibility features benefit all users. For example, clear headings and logical navigation make a website easier for everyone to understand and use, even those with temporary impairments or those simply multitasking.
• Better SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Search engines like Google favor websites that are well-structured and easy to understand. Many accessibility best practices, such as using descriptive alt text for images and clear headings, also improve your website's SEO.
• Legal Compliance: In many regions, there are legal requirements to make websites accessible. Ignoring accessibility can lead to legal issues (getting sued, paying fines) and reputational damage. Starting in 2027, for example, legal compliance will be required of most government websites.
• Enhanced Brand Reputation: Demonstrating a commitment to inclusivity and accessibility can significantly improve your brand image and foster goodwill among your audience.

What does website accessibility look like in practice?

It involves a range of considerations during the design and development process, such as:

• Providing text alternatives for non-text content: This means adding descriptions to images, videos, and audio so that people using screen readers (software that reads website content aloud) can understand them.
• Ensuring sufficient color contrast: Making sure text and background colors have enough contrast so that people with low vision can easily read the content.
• Making the website navigable using only a keyboard: Many people cannot use a mouse and rely on keyboard navigation. A well-designed accessible website allows users to navigate all interactive elements using only the tab key, arrow keys, and enter key.
• Structuring content logically with clear headings: This helps users understand the organization of the page and navigate it effectively, especially those using assistive technologies. ¹
• Making forms easy to understand and use: Providing clear labels and instructions for form fields.
• Ensuring videos have captions or transcripts: This allows people who are deaf or hard of hearing to understand the audio content.
• Designing for readability: Using clear and concise language, appropriate font sizes, and avoiding large blocks of text.

In conclusion, website accessibility isn't just a niche technical requirement; it's a fundamental aspect of creating a user-friendly and inclusive online experience for everyone.

By understanding and implementing accessibility principles, you can open the digital door wider, reach a broader audience, and build a better website for all.

It's about creating a web where everyone has equal access to information and opportunities.  

Further Resource: https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/docs/

Kerri Marvel
Website Designer, SEO Doer, Blog Writer, Website Care Plan Administrator