2023-12-11 04:01:40
Today, the Internet is more important than ever – an attractive web presence creates both trust and additional business opportunities. But a significant proportion of people cannot enjoy many contents because the website is not adapted to their needs. The design of the site is excluded. This is precisely where accessible design comes in, to ensure a flawless experience for all users.
We explain to you why it is so important to focus on inclusive design and what benefits you can get from it as a company. This is because if you create an accessible website, you ultimately increase your reach.
What does accessibility mean?
Accessibility is actually a term that most people are familiar with in their daily lives. These often include streets, buildings and public spaces. These are products and services that can be used without problems by people with physical or mental disabilities. The goal is to remove barriers so everyone can benefit.
But the Internet must also become a barrier-free space in order to include and treat everyone equally. There can indeed be countless reasons why some people are uncomfortable with a certain design. This is why an accessible website is becoming more and more important today, in order to be able to deal with this situation in a positive way.
When do we talk about an accessible website?
Barrier-free websites are not a recent invention. Already in 1999, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) looked into this topic. But the implementation is still not perfect, although the requirements have already been relatively clearly defined for a long time.
An accessible design is characterized by the following properties:
Perceptibility: Only one sense should be enough to perceive the information on the page (usually this is sight, hearing or touch). Usability: everyone should be able to use the website, including people with physical or mental disabilities. Understanding : information and use must be clear and understandable. Unnecessarily complicated design should be avoided. Robustness : the website is designed to enable the trouble-free use of assistive technologies often used by people with visual impairments, for example.
These may seem like very high requirements, but there are many assistive technologies available today that allow practical implementation. For example, there have been Text-to-Speech (screen readers) for countless years that read text aloud to allow visually impaired people to access content. However, this presupposes an accessible design that takes this function precisely into account.
Why is accessibility so important in web design?
Businesses and individuals both benefit from an accessible website. Website design. On the one hand, it allows everyone to participate digitally, on the other hand, it increases the reach of the company. This expands your target group, who can then use your website and services without any problems.
A website with a barrier-free design even benefits from better referencing (SEO), because these days, good usability on mobile devices is increasingly important. These often have smaller screens and limited data transfer rates, which is why a barrier-free design is very advantageous.
Ultimately, this is also an important step towards the future and thus you put yourself on the safe side, even when it comes to legal aspects. More and more countries are demanding inclusion on the web.
Is web design accessibility a legal requirement?
There are guidelines in Switzerland that all companies should follow, but which are currently implemented mainly by state bodies. These Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Describe in detail all the requirements that have already been covered previously in the text. But they also depend on the types of offers available on the site in question and can, in certain circumstances, be more flexible than for offers from official authorities, for example.
How to make a website accessible?
If you follow a few practical tips, you can implement barrier-free design in just a few steps. One should always pay attention to the requirements described in the previously mentioned guidelines (WCAG) and how they can be met in the most targeted manner possible. So you can think of this as a checklist for a barrier-free website.
Ease of use
An important aspect is the ease of use, which can only be done using a keyboard. Visually impaired or blind people often use the Internet – use with a mouse or touch screen is therefore rarely possible. Navigation using tabs and key combinations as well as flawless use of a screen reader are absolutely essential.
A clear structure for orientation
The user must be able to orient themselves without visual information. In this case, the use of a screen reader comes to the fore again, as this usually has problems when tables or iFrames are used. These make using the website virtually impossible for visually impaired people.
Font size and contrast
It is also important to ensure that the font size and contrast are sufficient. A font size of 10 in dark gray on a white background may be fashionable, but it can cause problems for visually impaired people. This is why it is better to opt for a slightly larger font and a light background so that the text is easily recognizable.
Add text to graphics
A barrier-free design also means that content must be fully available, even if a person cannot see the graphics. To do this, it is necessary to submit a complete and relevant alternative text that the user can consult if necessary. The same goes for PDF files, which often link to texts instead of describing their content. Here too, it is preferable to describe the content.
Audio and multimedia
Thanks to increased bandwidth and digitalization, more and more audio and multimedia content is used. Depending on the content, however, these may exclude both the visually impaired and the hearing impaired. Also in this case, an alternative text or a transcription of videos to allow everyone to enjoy the content.
Conclusion
You should not view the accessibility of your website as a burdensome obligation, but as a modern way to include everyone. This not only increases your service, but also your reach and target group. Ultimately, you also enjoy the benefits of search engine optimization (SEO).
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