What are website accessibility features and why are they important?
It’s good practice to do what you can to make sure your website is as accessible as possible. One in five people in the UK have a long-term illness or disability and you want your website to be enjoyed and accessed by as many people as possible.
What is website accessibility?
Website accessibility is the practice of making sure that there are no barriers to preventing people with disabilities from accessing a website’s information. But what are accessibility features, and how can you make sure you’re putting these in place? We’ll start with the guidance:
The government guidelines regarding accessibility standards for websites of public sector bodies states that websites and mobile apps should be able to be used by as many people as possible, including those with:
- Impaired vision
- motor difficulties
- cognitive impairments or learning disabilities
- deafness or impaired hearing
Why is website accessibility important?
Websites should do everything they can to make sure they comply as much as possible with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA of June 2018. And although private sector websites are not obligated to comply with these guidelines as much as the public sector, it is still good practice to go as far as possible to make your website accessible and ensure that all your visitors have a quality user experience.
Google, “without exception” ranks websites with better accessibility standards higher than those with poor accessibility.
How do I make my website more accessible?
Just having a website does not make you accessible. Accessibility, and the WCAG 2.1 guidelines, means ensuring your content and design are simple to interpret and access, and supports those who need further adaptation to access it.
The four main guiding principles when it comes to making web and app content accessible are: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust (POUR). Accessibility checks are complex, and although there are some relatively simple things you can ensure, it is recommended that you have your website scanned by a reputable accessibility service to get specifics. Here is a flavour of what you will need to ensure:
- No flashing images
- No underlined links
- Text is easy to understand, in plain English
- Text goes from left to right
- Text in alternative size is available
- Colour contrasts are easy to see, particularly coloured text
- Timings for moving images are not too fast
- Lists are marked up clearly
- Captions on videos
Where should I go from here?
Your IT service provider will be able to run an accessibility standards scan that relates to all the standards of WCAG 2.1 AA and the previous accessibility standards, prior to June 2018, and will provide you with a full report, stating your options for improvement.
Cultrix provide accessibility standards scanning for customer websites, with advice on practical updates and amendments that can be made, so that you can ensure your website is seen by as many people as possible, without exception.
Originally published at https://www.cultrix.co.uk.
