The importance of website accessibility

As the world becomes increasingly digital, having a comprehensive website strategy is more important than ever. Your website is often the first point of contact for potential customers, and it needs to be able to effectively communicate your brand message and provide a seamless user experience.

When you make a website, it's important to make sure that everyone can use it. Some people might have trouble seeing or hearing, and others might have trouble using a mouse. That's why we need to make websites that are easy for everyone to use. This is called accessibility.

Why is Accessibility Important?

Accessibility is important because it makes sure that everyone can use the website. That way, everyone can navigate your website and find what they need. It's also important because it's the right thing to do!

Website Accessibility Widget showing options available via the Accessibe website widget
Accessibe website accessibility widget – part of the Redefined Creative Care Plan

How to make a website accessible:

There are a few things we need to think about when we make a website to make sure it's easy for everyone to use.

Navigation:

Navigation is an important part of website accessibility because it allows users to easily find the information they need and move around the site. Clear and consistent navigation helps users understand where they are on the site and how to find what they're looking for.

This is especially important for users with cognitive or motor impairments, who may have difficulty understanding complex navigation structures. Having a clear and consistent navigation structure also helps users orient themselves on the website, making it easier for them to find the information they need.

Colors:

Colors play an important role in website accessibility as they can greatly impact the readability and legibility of the website's content. When choosing colors, it's important to consider that some users may have visual impairments, making it difficult for them to distinguish certain colors or to see the contrast between the text and background.

To make the website accessible for these users, it's important to use high-contrast color combinations that make the text easy to read. Additionally, it's important to consider that some users may be colorblind, which can make it difficult to differentiate between certain colors. To accommodate for this, it's important to use patterns or symbols in addition to color to convey important information.

Text size:

The size of text on a website is an important aspect of accessibility because it affects the ability of users to read and understand the content on the website. People with visual impairments may have difficulty reading small text, making it important to provide the option to adjust the text size to a larger font.

Additionally, some people may have a harder time reading small text. It's important to make sure that the text size is readable by different age groups and visual abilities. Providing adjustable text size options can also make it easier for users to read the text on small screens such as smartphones and tablets. This way, everyone can comfortably read and understand the content on the website, regardless of their visual abilities.

Images:

When we add pictures to a website, we need to add words that explain what the picture is. These words are called “Alt Text”. Alt text tells people what the picture is about, even if they can't see it.

This way, even if someone can't see the picture, they can still understand what it's about. Alt text is important because it makes the website easier to use for people who have trouble seeing.

Keyboard:

When we make a website, we need to make sure that it can be used with just a keyboard. This is important because some people have trouble using a mouse and need to use a keyboard to navigate the website.

By making sure that the website can be used with just a keyboard, we make it easier for everyone to use and find what they need on the website.

Audio and Videos:

We need to make sure that the audio and videos on the website have words that tell us what's being said. That way, even if someone can't hear the audio or video, they can still understand what's happening.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, making websites that are easy for everyone to use is very important. It's called accessibility. By thinking about accessibility when we make a website, we can make sure that everyone can use it. This makes your site available to more people, plus it's the right thing to do!

We've partnered with Accessibe to help make your website accessible. Achieve WCAG and ADA compliance when you sign up for our WordPress Care Plan.

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