Web Accessibility and it’s importance

July 7, 2021

Written by: iNFOTYKE

Web Accessibility and it’s importance: Before knowing about web accessibility, we should first understand what the word ‘Accessibility’ means. Accessibility is the ability to access something regardless of their condition (e.g internet, transport system).” Wikipedia says, “Accessibility refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people who experience disabilities.”

So we can define Web Accessibility as a way to make everyone, including the disabled to have access to the web and internet as a whole. In different ways, we can also say Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web.

Why Is Web Accessibility Important?

Nowadays the internet has become an important part of our lives. Whether traveling, shopping, studying, or any other service we are dependent on the internet and so we should make sure that the web is accessible to people with disabilities to have equal access to the important services/features the web provides.

When your website is accessible to a wider audience then your views will automatically increase. Not only this but often what is good for accessibility is also good for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) as search engines will often crawl your website in the same way a screen reader would.

Simple Ways To Form Your Website Accessible

Alt-tags

An alt tag is the description of an image, what the image is all about. In case the image is not visible if you have a descriptive alt-tag then this will help screen readers to relay the knowledge you’re trying to portray.

Keyboard Navigation

Some users are unable to or don’t have access to a mouse, meaning they can navigate through your website via a keyboard. ensuring your website is straightforward to navigate through employing a keyboard will go an extended thanks to helping make your site more accessible.

Web Accessibility and it’s importance

Title Tag

Making sure you’ve got a brief yet descriptive title and appending all pages will allow visitors to understand what the page is about which is particularly helpful for people employing a screen reader.

Text – size contrast and color

Make sure the text is large enough to read and has enough contrast against its background. Colour combinations are important and specific color blindness testing must be done. There are several free online tools for contrast and color testing. See below for options.

Web Accessibility and it's importance

Transcripts for Audio

Transcripts for audio or video are beneficial for people with disabilities, particularly deaf and blind users. They use Braille or other assistive devices to access the content.

Avoid automatic media and navigation

Automatic media and navigation can be frustrating to many users, especially those who use a screen reader as it also interrupts the audio. Not everyone reads at the same speed so the automatic navigation prevents them from fully absorbing the information on the current page.

Reasons to Care About Web Accessibility

Improving your reputation

If you are towards the Effort to make a website or app fully accessible will have a positive impact on your company’s reputation and create an image of social responsibility and care for all users.

Acquisition of new customers

There are many people with impairments who do not trust a service provider because poor web accessibility is one of the main reasons. Web accessibility is mostly ignored by most brands, users with disabilities are willing to spend more of their money with companies who provide them with a well-thought-out user experience. The purchasing power of this particular market is enormous.

SEO Ranking Factor or Not, You Should Value Accessibility

If the goal of your SEO strategy is to bring users to your website through search engines and encourage those users to require desired actions on your website property, then you ought to already be incorporating accessibility considerations into your SEO strategies and audits. If Google’s UX testing tools are any indication, additional accessibility-related ranking signals may not be far off.

Understanding the importance of web accessibility is a moral and ethical obligation. Making the web more accessible brings a positive impact and eliminates discrimination against those with disabilities. Optimizing your site to be fully accessible helps avoid costly litigations, as well as provides practical benefits such as better search engine ranking, better conversion rate, repeat visitors, and more loyal users.

Web Accessibility and it’s importance

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