What is website accessibility? And is it important?
Website Accessibility Explained
Web accessibility is broadly defined as the set of tools and technologies included as part of a website to make it usable by any person, regardless of their ability. Accessibility standards are important because the internet should be an equal opportunity for everyone to communicate, interact, and work — regardless of their physical or mental limitations and abilities.
One in four Americans suffers from a disability that affects their experience on your website.
Increased adoption of website accessibility helps ensure that any person with auditory, cognitive, physical, neurological, speech, or visual disabilities or limitations — 26% of adults in the U.S. — can easily navigate your website, communicate with you, and correctly perceive and understand the information being conveyed by you.
Web accessibility also helps people with no disabilities. Households with slow Internet connections or individuals who may be less tech-savvy can also benefit. Furthermore, situations like bright sunlight or noisy environments — experienced by many on a daily basis — affect how we are able to experience certain colors or features of a website.
Web Accessibility Regulations and Standards — ADA & WCAG
There are two primary bodies of work that govern website accessibility in the U.S.: the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
The ADA is a civil rights law, meaning that non-compliance can result in legal action and steep financial penalties. The ADA is aimed to protect an estimated 61 million Americans who have some type of disability. The law states that all businesses’ websites must be accessible so that no one is discriminated against for their differing abilities.
WCAG is a set of best practices and guidelines for designing a website. It was developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) that provides internationally recognized standards for web accessibility. The WCAG guidelines are a set of best practices designed to ensure content on your site can be easily accessed by people who use different applications like screen readers and captions for audio and those who can’t use a mouse or touch screen easily.
Standards & Principles of Website Accessibility
STANDARDS
There are standards to follow as you develop and design an accessible website. Different elements must work together to allow a website to function and for the end-user to have a good experience: the content, accessing the content (user agents), and producing the content (authoring tools).
Web content - any part of a website, including text, images, forms, and multimedia, as well as any markup code, scripts, applications, etc.
User agents - software that people use to access web content, including desktop graphical browsers, voice browsers, mobile phone browsers, multimedia players, plug-ins, and some assistive technologies.
Authoring tools - software or services that people use to produce web content, including code editors, document conversion tools, content management systems, blogs, database scripts, and other tools.
PRINCIPLES
Additionally, there are four principles to follow when creating new content or editing existing content on your website. Content should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
Perceivable
The information on your website and the various components should be designed and displayed for comprehension in different ways.
WHAT THIS MEANS
Content that isn’t text (e.g., images) needs to have a text alternative. Alternatives are also needed for multi-media content in addition to captions.
Structuring your content and information is also required and can be done through proper coding or by adding in apps that allow for a flexible, but a sequenced experience for proper interpretation by users.
Content should be easy to read. For example, it should be responsive to text size changes, color shouldn’t be the only way you convey information, and users should have the ability to adjust volume and stop a video.
Operable
The content on your website has a flexible user interface and navigation is easy to comprehend.
WHAT THIS MEANS
Not all consumers use a mouse to access the web, so it’s required that all functions be accessible using a keyboard.
Time limitations should be flexible to allow for the additional time it takes for some to read instructions, fill out forms, or complete other tasks.
Clear website navigation that helps users find relevant content and understand where they are in the hierarchy of your site is critical.
Websites must avoid using any content like rapid flashing or patterns that could cause a seizure or other physical discomfort.
Understandable
The content on your website must be simple and easy to understand for all consumers.
WHAT THIS MEANS
Font size must be large enough for people with limited vision to easily read (16px is the smallest recommended font size for paragraphs) and font type must not be too intricate (such as fancy script fonts).
Colors and images must be easy to understand and should not be used as the only method of conveying information.
Website navigation must be intuitive and reasonable to allow for easy, predictable browsing.
Robust
The content on your website should be easily interpreted and clearly conveyed. It should also be compatible with past versions and platforms.
WHAT THIS MEANS
Use headings and paragraphs to your advantage. Write your content so that consumers can skim through a page and understand the basic point you are attempting to convey.
When updating your site or making technology enhancements, ensure that your site will continue to work even for those using older technology or different browsers.
Accessibility & SEO — A Dynamic Duo
Many accessibility guidelines are also SEO best practices, so make sure you’re not ignoring one when you’re working on improving the other.
Add Alt Text to All Images
Alternative text describes the appearance and function of an image or illustration. It’s necessary in terms of accessibility standards, but also helps if images are not loading on your website (for example, if a user has a slow internet connection).
Image alt text is also a basic SEO practice, so make sure the alt text is descriptive. For example, use “red two-door sports car driving at sunset,” not just “red car.”
Create Unique and Descriptive URLs
Links that refer to internal or external pages or resources must have unique and descriptive anchor text. When all links have the same text, like “read more,” there isn’t enough context to interpret the link properly.
Provide Captions for Videos and Transcripts For Audio
Including captions for videos and transcripts for audio is essential to ensuring that every website visitor is able to fully comprehend your content. By providing transcripts and subtitles you also help search engines better understand your content, which could have a positive effect on your ranking.
Choose Color and Contrast Carefully
Colors and contrast play an important role in website design. There are many color combinations that shouldn’t be used together, especially when certain background colors are used to display text. Changes in color shouldn’t be the sole indicator for interactive elements like hyperlinks. And don't rely on red or green as color blindness associated with these two colors is the most common.
Use Tables for Data, Not For Layout
It’s good to use tables to represent tabular data, but not as a layout option as it prevents incremental rendering and breaks text on some browsers. For example, if you want to present text in two columns side-by-side, rely on the columns feature on your website platform instead of a table.
Make Your Forms Easy to Use
Using forms has become an essential part of websites, but you have to ensure they are easy to understand, complete, and submit. Make sure form requirements are clearly stated, errors are obvious to fix, related fields are grouped, and a keyboard can be used to complete the form.
PDFs, Docs, PowerPoint, and Other Documents
When you include PDFs, documents, or PowerPoint presentations, provide a detailed description of what the file contains so users can quickly decide whether to download the content. Also, provide multiple formats of the same file, such as .docx, .txt, .pdf, etc., for the ability to support additional software or applications that may be needed for interpretation.
There is currently a robust discussion about using only HTML or CSS instead of downloadable files, and it’s gaining traction and being adopted by the savviest of companies.
Making your website accessible to as many people as possible will boost your traffic and lower your bounce rate, both of which will help your SEO.
