Website accessibility considers the needs of users with regards to how they may experience your website in different capacities.
Think of a situation where a user will interact with your website using a screen reader or someone with limited mobility might get around the site. These are just some of the possibilities to consider when developing a website that’s easily accessible.
It is not possible for every website developer to test the accessibility of their websites with real users. But the good news is that are stipulated guidelines that developers and designers can use to ensure they are creating websites that are accessible to everyone.
Why is accessibility so important?
Having any form of disability should not in any way disadvantage anyone from using a website. When your website is accessible, it means that everyone, including people with different kinds of disabilities, can comfortably use it.
It is the responsibility of web designers and developers to create apps and websites that adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
The Basics of Web Accessibility
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are intended to offer guidance to designers and developers so that they make their digital content easily accessible. All state and federal agencies are supposed to adhere to the WCAG 2.0 recommendations.
These guidelines are usually updated regularly based on the new information. All businesses that engage with the public are also supposed to adhere to WCAG recommendations. Failure to do so will attract hefty fines.
Web accessibility tips
There are a lot of requirements that businesses and organizations need to meet to be considered ADA compliant. Although you may not be able to meet all of them, there certain basics that will keep you on the safe side if you manage to fulfill them.
Below are some tips:
1) Header structure
One of the most important elements of website accessibility is introducing users to your website as well as the type of content they are interacting with. That’s where incorporating a header stricture comes in.
2) Alt texts
This is another important aspect of web accessibility. Whenever you use images in your website or app, ensure you incorporate alt texts to give meaning to those images. The main purpose of alt texts is to describe images so that people who can’t see may understand what’s on the website.
3) Links
Users generally have certain expectations for whatever information they come across on the internet. For instance, developers should learn to underline links used in texts because that’s usually the expectation of users.
4) Ensure your website can be accessed without a mouse or keyboard
This is also one of the recommendations of the WCAG. As such, test your website to see if you are able to access it without a mouse or keyboard.
5) Colors
Colors are usually used to communicate different things in the digital world. It is therefore important to choose colors that communicate the right messages to users.
Bottom line
The importance of accessibility cannot be overstressed. As a developer, designer, or business owner, it is important to have an effective ADA compliance checker to ensure you are adhering to WCAG recommendations. According to the experts at AudioEye, you just need to enter your web page address into the field and the AI-powered Live Monitoring technology scans the HTML elements and attributes and tests them against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 A and AA success criteria. It then summarizes your website’s performance into a single Accessibility Score.
