The Importance Of Accessibility Online

You’ve heard of accessibility at the office or on public transport. But now the concept is coming to the online world. People should be able to access and enjoy internet content, regardless of their disabilities, proponents say.

What precisely this means differs depending on who you ask. For some, it’s being able to consume internet content. But it actually goes beyond that. It also has to do with navigating, understanding and interacting with web elements, too.

What Types Of Disability Does Online Accessibility Cater To?

Online accessibility should cater to all disabilities. Medics define disability as any condition of the body or mind that makes it harder or impossible for someone to perform certain activities and interact with the world around them.

Specifically, web designers working in the online space should consider three types of disability: permanent, temporary and conditional. Permanent disabilities are the most obvious: blindness, deafness, and so on. However, temporary disabilities are the most common, and perhaps the more significant reason why firms should invest in their online accessibility. Practically everyone goes through a disabling episode at some point in their lives but remains a consumer throughout.

Then there are conditional disabilities. These occur in some situations, but not others. Autoimmune conditions and mental health issues are good examples of these. Online firms, therefore, should watch out for anything that might trigger these conditions.

What Does Web Accessibility Mean?

Web accessibility is the use of various tools and technologies to make websites more useful for disabled individuals. Proper implementations should make pages just as easy to use as they are for the rest of the population. Ultimately, it should be “fair,” meaning that everyone has the same access to all products, services, and website functions as everyone else.

The Benefits Of Greater Online Accessibility

Entrepreneurs often treat web accessibility issues as a burden – extra work they must complete to fulfil various regulatory requirements. However, it can also offer significant benefits, as discussed below:

Satisfies Regulatory Requirements

Governments are currently pushing for equal access, equal opportunity and similar ideas, and the general public are widely supportive of them. Trends are strongest in the healthcare and education sectors, but they are also taking root in all areas of the economy.

Pursuing accessibility helps your enterprise conform to regulations. The more you can help disabled people participate actively in society, the more you will be fulfilling your business and legal requirements. The Equalities Act 2010 covers the accessibility of websites in the UK.

Let’s You Do More Business With Disabled People

According to official government figures, there are more than 14.6 million people classified as “disabled” in the UK. That’s just over 20 per cent of the population. Many of these people have long-term illnesses, difficulty moving, lifting or carrying objects, or have a more general impairment or disability.

Therefore, all firms should be considering the demographic in how to present their websites online. A large swathe of the market requires accessibility to do business. These are consumers just like anyone else.

For instance, many disabled people living in the UK have trouble with their sight. Hence, this group requires websites with larger typefaces.

Others have trouble physically getting to and from the shops and services they use. Therefore, they need home delivery options or local pickup points.

Others can struggle to understand or interpret what websites say or mean due to learning or neurological difficulties. These people require easy-to-understand English, simple interfaces, and instructions on what they should do next.

Improves Your Brand

Lastly, offering online accessibility can also improve how people perceive you. Given the direction of the culture, making your website more accessible also has the potential to generate a positive brand image if you get it right. Regular users (with or without disabilities) will appreciate you’re doing your part to support the community and cater to their needs.

How To Improve Your Website’s Compatibility

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can improve your website’s compatibility to make it easier for people with disabilities to use. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Provide a “dark mode” option to make text easier to read and help those with chronic migraines or other conditions triggered by bright, artificial lights
• Improve colour selection for individuals with colour-blindness. Avoid using greens, oranges, and browns close together.
• Make it easy to ask questions if users get stuck. (I want to add a chat feature to my website for this very reason).
• Add audio captions to video clips to assist visually impaired users
• Add caption text to video clips for individuals who can’t hear
• Give users the option to use multiple input devices if they sometimes struggle to use their hands
• Make the content as simple and easy to follow as possible to assist those with learning disabilities or cognitive problems.
• Provide text magnification tools so that users can easily read the small print without having to squint in front of their screen
• Add descriptive alt texts to describe precisely what's in the images on your site.
• Use default HTML tags. Avoid the temptation to use anchors for buttons. (This process requires adding more Javascript. Stick to using buttons for buttons).
• Add title tags. Some browsers do not include these, making it hard for readers to figure out what’s on the page
• Use ARIA tags. Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) are a set of HTML attributes that define how to make content more accessible to people with disabilities. Tools include form hints, navigational landmarks, lie content updates and helpful error messages.

How To Get Help Making Your Website More Accessible

These days, there are plenty of online tools that make it easier to make your website more accessible. Google, for instance, has a suite of Accessibility Developer Tools. Other proprietary and open-source options also exist, including A11Y Compliance Platform by the Bureau of Internet Accessibility and Accessibility Checklist by the publisher, Elsevier.