It is important that all web users can access and use your website as it was intended. However, not all users have the same abilities, so designing for accessibility is crucial.
Modern mobile devices have accessibility tools like screen readers to help users understand what is on the web pages that they visit. There are also tools available for users who have a disability, such as loss of sight. Web designers generally make use of this existing technology to create the most accessible websites possible.
When it comes to accessible design best practices, you need to ensure that you cover all your bases. This will help you reach a larger audience and boost your SEO success. To achieve this, there are principles and design best practices you can follow to create the best possible user experience for your website visitors, which we will take a closer look at.
WCAG For Web Accessibility Best Practices
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), created by a segment of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), aid web developers in making more accessible websites that everyone can enjoy, regardless of their limitations.
According to the WCAG, accessible content should be:
- Perceivable
- Operable
- Understandable
- Robust
No matter what sensory abilities or limitations your viewers have, they need to be able to understand what is happening on any web page, without difficulty.
If designers make use of the simple guidelines provided, their web pages will convey all the information as intended.
Who Does Website Accessibility Cater For?
Web accessibility caters to any individual who has a full or partial impairment or disability. This could be hearing impairments, visual impairments, colour blindness, cognitive disabilities and mobility impediments.
So, how do you make your website more inclusive for users with disabilities or limitations? Let's look at the most important technological advancements that make this possible.
Assistive technologies
Many users make use of assistive technologies. This is one of the reasons why designing for accessibility is incredibly important. If your website is not accessible, you could potentially lose out on a large proportion of business.
Here are some examples of assistive technology:
Screen readers
Screen readers are popular solutions for visually impaired website visitors. They read aloud what is on the page and the relevant content, breaking it up into segments. When they come across videos or images, they read the alternative text, which is coded into the alt tags on the website. If this left is blank, there is nothing to read.
Web browsers, such as Chrome, offer screen reader plugins.
Text-to-speech
There is downloadable software that turns text into audio content. This works for people who are visually impaired or who have cognitive disabilities or dyslexia. It also works for anyone who enjoys listening to content instead of reading. Some popular applications are Speechify and NaturalReader.
While screen readers will try to read everything on the page, including alt text for images, text-to-speech usually just reads out the text.
Alternative keyboards
People with mobility impairments may use alternative keyboards, such as a one-handed keyboard. If a user is unable to use a standard keyboard or mouse, web developers need to enable easy keyboard navigation for these users.
Something as simple as enabling keyboard navigation with the tab key can make a huge difference for your users.
Web Accessibility Design Principles
When creating the first draft of a website design, all the general principles of accessibility should be considered. Do all users find your site accessible? Can they easily navigate your site? To ensure that you have an easily accessible website, there are a couple of best practice techniques that can be followed.
Practical Techniques For Improving Accessibility
Here are some practical techniques that you should add to your web design accessibility checklist.
Document language
Every document and web page needs to clearly indicate the language it is written in. This is particularly helpful for those who use screen readers.
Use headings wisely
It's important to use the correct format for headings and the correct hierarchy. Headings give a web page proper structure and make it easy for search engines, screen readers, and humans to scan through the content.
Headings can be used to break up content and they should introduce sections so your users know what the content is about as well.
Fonts and font sizes
Avoid fonts that are too small. Everything should be easy to read and easily resizable. Many users use a larger font size so that they can read text on their mobile phones. Starting with a decent-sized font, like 14 pt or larger, could improve your website's accessibility.
It's best to also use simple fonts that are not easily misunderstood. Modern websites have a clean, minimalistic look. Fonts like Arial, Calibri and Times New Roman are good options to consider and work well for accessibility.
Add labels to form elements
When you create a form and add form fields, each of the elements should be correctly labelled. This helps screen readers understand what is on the page, so they can correctly convey the information. It is also noteworthy to remove visible labels and prompts from within the form fields for accessible web design. This contributes to a cleaner design.
Add alt text to all images and video content
Every element that is not presented as text should have alternative (alt) text. This applies to images, audio files, and video content. This is an important factor for website accessibility and for search engines.
Every video should have descriptive text to explain what the video is about. It is also a good idea to provide transcripts for visually impaired users who use screen readers or text-to-speech software. Having alt text is also a quick way to improve your general SEO.
Web page layout and design
It is important to use colour contrasts, especially for colour-blind users. Make sure that your contrast ratio is correct so that colour-blind users can easily navigate your website without any hassles.
You don't want to lose any clearly defined boundaries in the visual design when you are designing for accessibility. This means that each element on the page needs to be clearly labelled and given text alternatives for easy accessibility.
Buttons and Links
When creating your page names and inserting internal and external links, use descriptive anchor text. Instead of saying "Click here", say something like "Click here to read more about the XYZ topic" or "Sign up for our newsletter". Making your links descriptive is informative to both users and assistive technologies.
Users and screen readers also need to be able to easily distinguish between links, buttons, and general content. This is an easy way to improve web accessibility.
Navigation and menus
When designing for accessibility, navigation menus are an imperative factor to consider. The menu is like a roadmap for users to find their way around your website. Ensure that a user can easily pass from one page to another. They need to easily locate the menu, and the menu needs to guide them to their next page.
Another great tip is to make use of breadcrumbs, which is a navigational tool on a website. By using breadcrumbs, users can easily know where they are as they explore your site.
Template Websites
If your website is built with a template, such as those from WordPress or ExpressionEngine, ensure that you make use of templates that fulfil accessibility requirements. This will make it easier for users with limitations to have full access to your web content. There are many themes and plugins available to help improve web accessibility.
Testing Web Accessibility
Test everything. Make use of freeware programs to test your web accessibility. You need to ensure that your accessibility inputs have been successful and that all users can actually enjoy your content and potentially become new customers.
Tips: Accessibility Best Practices
- Implement responsive design so that the page content changes to suit the size of the screen.
- Provide captions and transcripts for all video or audio content.
- Create consistent and understandable navigation that is easy to use.
- Add a statement to your website to inform users about the accessible web design best practices you have implemented. Let them know that you are giving them an inclusive experience.
- Use clear, simple language in your content and text alternatives.
- Be consistent in your design and make everything precise and concise.
- Blank spaces can create error messages when assistive applications are used.
And, of course, don’t forget to test your website with real users and get their feedback on all the changes. This means that you can test the success of your accessibility efforts and ensure the necessary alterations are made.
Conclusion
As you can see, it's important to ensure that your website makes use of accessibility best practices. Now that you understand what web accessibility is and how certain techniques can be implemented in your web design to make it more approachable, it's time to put these best practices to use. You want to make sure that your website provides equal access to anyone who uses it.
Ryde is an all-inclusive web design agency that specialises in ExpressionEngine. We make use of website accessibility best practices on all their websites because they understand the importance of making a website accessible to everyone. After all, the more accessible your website is, the more successful it will be.
Contact us today for all your web design and development requirements.
