Making Websites Better with WCAG & Sketchnoting
Have you ever thought about how we can make websites easier for everyone to use and understand? This is where two cool ideas come together: making websites accessible and using sketchnoting. Let’s talk about what these are and why combining them is a great idea.
What are these ideas?
Accessibility
Making websites accessible means designing websites so that everyone, including people with disabilities, can use them easily. This could mean making a website work well for someone who needs to use a special tool to read the screen, or for someone who can’t use a mouse and needs to use a keyboard instead.
Sketchnoting
Sketchnoting is like taking notes but in a fun and visual way. It uses drawings, symbols, and layouts to show ideas. This isn’t just about making notes look good, it’s about making ideas easier to understand and remember.
Why mix these two?
When we bring together making websites accessible and using sketchnoting, we make information easier for everyone to get.
⚡ For a great example of WCAG & Sketchnotes mix, visit the ACTUM Digital Accessibility page. WCAG is short for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible to people with various abilities and disabilities.
Five benefits of this mix:
- Easier to understand: Just like how making websites accessible helps people with disabilities, using sketchnoting helps make ideas clearer for everyone. Pictures and drawings can make complex ideas simpler, which is great for people who find learning from text hard.
- Good for everyone: The idea behind making websites for everyone is that it should work for all, no matter what. Sketchnoting helps with this by making information fun and interesting for different kinds of people, not just those who like reading.
- Keeps people interested: Adding drawings and visuals to a website can make it more fun to look at and explore. This means people might stick around longer and understand the information better.
- Creative solutions: Mixing these two ideas can lead to new ways of solving problems. For example, we can describe pictures with text for people who can’t see them, making sure they still get the information.
- Crosses language barriers: Pictures can sometimes tell a story without needing words, which is great for people who speak different languages. Making websites accessible also means making sure everyone, no matter where they’re from or what language they speak, can use them.
Moving forward
As we start using sketchnoting more on websites, it’s important to make sure these visuals are done in a way that everyone can enjoy. This means thinking about how to describe these visuals in words for people who can’t see them and making sure the website still works well with different tools people might use to browse the internet.
By bringing together making websites accessible and sketchnoting, we’re making the internet a better place for everyone. It’s all about sharing information in a way that’s easy, fun, and works for all kinds of people.
This piece was inspired by Jiří Zmrhal, our Web Accessibility Consultant. The article was written by Petra, Delivery Coach Lead of Apollo Division. If you seek help with your project or initiative, just drop us a line. 🚀
Visit ACTUM Digital Accessibility for more tips on web accessibility.
