Having a website isn’t just essential—it’s your brand’s front door to the world. Whether you’re running a business, sharing information, or building a community, your site must be welcoming and accessible to all visitors. But what happens when some visitors can’t even enter? This is where website accessibility becomes crucial.
As expert website designers, we can tell you that accessibility isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s about creating an inclusive, user-friendly experience for all. Accessibility means making sure that your website can be used by people with a variety of abilities and disabilities, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, can navigate, interact with, and understand your content. Let’s dive into why this matters and how the best designers incorporate these critical elements into every site they build.
Why Website Accessibility Matters
Imagine you’ve built a beautiful, high-tech store, but the entrance is up a flight of stairs with no ramp in sight. Customers in wheelchairs, or even parents with strollers, are immediately excluded. A similar thing happens online when a website isn’t accessible. If your website isn’t designed with accessibility in mind, you could be inadvertently shutting out a significant portion of your potential audience.
But accessibility isn’t just about compliance or avoiding lawsuits—it’s about making your website a place where everyone feels welcome. When you make accessibility a priority, it benefits all your users, not just those with disabilities.
What is Website Accessibility?
Website accessibility means creating a site that can be used by people with different abilities. This includes those with visual, auditory, cognitive, and motor impairments, as well as people with temporary limitations, like a broken arm or someone trying to use their phone in bright sunlight.
To achieve this, designers follow guidelines like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which provide a framework for making web content more accessible. By adhering to these standards, we ensure that all users can perceive, operate, understand, and interact with your website effectively.
Key Elements of an Accessible Website
The best website designers know that accessibility is a crucial part of the design process. Here are some key elements they focus on to create an accessible site:
- Contrast and Color Usage
One of the most fundamental aspects of accessibility is color contrast. Imagine trying to read light gray text on a white background—it’s tough, right? Now, think about how someone with low vision might feel. Ensuring sufficient contrast between text and background colors is essential for readability.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines recommend a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Designers use tools to check contrast ratios and make adjustments to color schemes to ensure that content is easy to read for everyone, regardless of their visual abilities.
Additionally, it’s crucial not to rely solely on color to convey important information. For instance, links should be underlined or clearly differentiated in some way besides just using color. This helps people who are colorblind or using assistive technologies like screen readers to navigate your site more effectively.
- Font Size and Readability
Font size plays a big role in how accessible your website is. Text that’s too small can be difficult to read, especially for those with visual impairments or users on mobile devices. As a rule of thumb, a base font size of at least 16px is recommended for readability across different devices and screen resolutions.
But it’s not just about size—the type of font you choose matters too. Some fonts are more legible than others, particularly for people with dyslexia or low vision. Sans-serif fonts like Arial or Verdana are often preferred for body text because they are clean and easy to read on screens.
Good designers also make sure that line spacing, letter spacing, and paragraph structure are optimized for readability. This means avoiding large blocks of text, which can be overwhelming, and instead using headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs to break up content and make it easier to digest.
- Keyboard Accessibility
Not everyone uses a mouse to navigate websites—some users rely on keyboards, especially those with motor disabilities. A well-designed, accessible website ensures that all interactive elements, like forms, buttons, and menus, can be accessed and operated via a keyboard.
Designers achieve this by setting up logical tab orders, ensuring that users can navigate through a site in a sensible sequence without getting stuck. They also make sure that any drop-down menus, sliders, or pop-ups can be easily operated with a keyboard alone.
- Alt Text for Images
Alt text, or alternative text, is a description of an image that is read aloud by screen readers and is used by people with visual impairments. This text allows users to understand the content and function of images on a website.
When writing alt text, designers and content creators should describe the image in a way that conveys its meaning or purpose in the context of the page. This might seem like a small detail, but it’s incredibly important for making a website accessible to users who cannot see the images.
- Clear and Consistent Navigation
An accessible website is easy to navigate for all users. This means having a clear and consistent menu structure, using descriptive link text (like “Contact Us” instead of “Click Here”), and ensuring that all pages are logically organized.
Good navigation helps users find what they’re looking for quickly and easily, which is especially important for those using screen readers or other assistive technologies. It’s about making the user journey as smooth and intuitive as possible.
The Benefits of Accessibility
Now that we’ve covered some of the key elements of an accessible website, let’s talk about why this matters—not just for users with disabilities, but for everyone.
- Expanding Your Audience
By making your website accessible, you’re opening your virtual doors to a much larger audience. The World Health Organization reports that over 1 billion people, about 15% of the world’s population, experience some form of disability. That’s a significant portion of potential visitors and customers you might be missing out on if your site isn’t accessible.
Accessibility also benefits users without disabilities. For example, video captions help people in noisy environments, and text alternatives for images are useful for users with slow internet connections. By prioritizing accessibility, you’re enhancing the user experience for everyone, which can lead to increased traffic, engagement, and conversions.
- Boosting SEO
Accessibility and SEO go hand-in-hand. Many accessibility best practices, like using descriptive alt text and clear headings, also improve your website’s search engine optimization. When your site is accessible, it’s easier for search engines to crawl and index your content, which can boost your rankings and make your site easier to find.
A well-structured, accessible website with logical navigation and clear content isn’t just good for users—it’s also good for search engines. This means that prioritizing accessibility can help you attract more visitors through organic search.
- Building Trust and Loyalty
In today’s competitive marketplace, brand loyalty is more important than ever. Consumers are increasingly choosing to support businesses that align with their values, including those that prioritize inclusivity and social responsibility.
By making your website accessible, you’re showing your commitment to all your users, not just those without disabilities. This builds trust and fosters loyalty, as users feel valued and appreciated. When people know that you’re taking steps to ensure everyone can access your site, they’re more likely to return and recommend your business to others.
- Avoiding Legal Risks
While accessibility is fundamentally about doing the right thing, there’s also a legal aspect to consider. In many places, including the United States, websites are required to be accessible by law. Failing to meet accessibility standards can result in costly lawsuits, fines, and damage to your brand’s reputation.
By prioritizing accessibility from the start, you’re protecting your business from these risks. It’s a proactive approach that not only helps you avoid potential legal issues but also strengthens your brand’s standing as an inclusive and responsible company.
The Point? Accessibility is Essential
In the end, website accessibility is not just a legal requirement or a design consideration—it’s a way to make your online presence more welcoming, inclusive, and effective. By incorporating accessibility into your website design, you’re opening up your business to a broader audience, improving user experience, boosting your SEO, and building a stronger, more trustworthy brand.
At RBOA, we’re passionate about creating accessible websites because we believe that everyone deserves equal access to the digital world. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to improve your current site, making accessibility a priority is one of the best decisions you can make for your business—and your users.
So, let’s make the web a more inclusive place, one accessible website at a time.
RBOA is a digital marketing agency with a 40-year legacy of creativity, smart strategy, and fresh thinking that delivers award-winning communications and successful results. We provide clients with a unique, omnichannel blend of advertising, social media, digital marketing, and web design services.
If you are interested in learning more about digital marketing for your organization, we hope you will reach out to RBOA to schedule an exploratory call.