Is your business website truly accessible?

I first wrote about the importance of accessibility in web design over 10 years ago, but some recent experiences with websites have made me inclined to think that there has been little improvement in some sectors when it comes to website accessibility over the past decade.

Research by the World Federation of the Deaf suggests there are 72 million deaf people and the World Health Organisation reports that there are 40 million blind people worldwide, with a further 250 million having a serious visual impairment.

Why is accessibility important?

Businesses with an online presence (which, in effect is almost all businesses) should be making their websites as inclusive and accessible as possible. Yet many newly designed websites that I have come across are difficult to read for those of us without a visual impairment. The number one culprit, in my view, is a text colour that does not provide sufficient contrast to the background colour.

Another culprit is lack of “alternative text” on images that screen reading software can use to describe images to the visually impaired. It’s the sort of detail I check because what is good for accessibility also happens to be good for search engine optimisation of a website.

Other features that help with accessibility are closed captions and audio description tracks on videos. Closed captions allow deaf viewers to better enjoy the videos, but also mean any user can access the content when they can’t, or don’t want to, have the sound on. So, again, what is good for accessibility is also good for user engagement (which, by the way, has an impact on where your website appears in the organic search listings). Audio description gives context to visual information to benefit audiences who may be partially sighted or blind. It audibly explains on-screen action such as body language and facial expressions.

Clearly then, accessible web design has a positive impact on the overall user experience for all users as well as widening your market reach. Providing customers with a positive experience online also has the added benefit of building brand loyalty.

Check your website for accessibility

There are plenty of web designers and developers who do make their websites accessible for all but, unfortunately, there are still some new website projects which neglect these all-important features. Following accessibility best practice can improve web development projects and help businesses evaluate how all users are able to access and interact with your website, helping to improve conversion rates.

Here’s an example of a free website accessibility checker, although you will have to provide your email address to get the results but you don’t need to tick the box to sign up to their emails: https://www.siteimprove.com/toolkit/accessibility-checker/

Delve into more detail

Ideally find a web developer with experience building accessible websites who can check and improve your own website. But if you want some background reading to better understand what’s involved, here’s some good advice from the UK government – aimed mainly at public sector websites but still useful:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/accessibility-requirements-for-public-sector-websites-and-apps