2022 Is Here, Accessibility Compliance Isn’t Optional Anymore!

All the reasons your brand needs this right now!

Tada
Shopify Society
5 min readDec 1, 2021

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Photo by Daniel Ali on Unsplash

Web accessibility is all about making the Web available to everyone, especially those with disabilities, giving them the opportunity to perceive, understand, navigate and interact with the Web. The disabilities have everything covered, including physical, auditory, speech, neurological, and cognitive. The majority of websites have some or the other kind of accessibility barrier, making it difficult for a disabled person to use their site. Web accessibility assists in making sure that people with all kinds of disabilities do not face these roadblocks when using the Web.

Why is it important?

It Provides Equal Access To Everyone

In 2011, the National Center for Education Statistics found that 11% of undergraduate students were reported with a disability, and recent data found that almost 13% of the U.S. population has a disability! This is why the accessibility tool plays an important role in ensuring equality amongst all.

It Promotes Usability

Accessibility enhances usability and results in a more intuitive user experience. Online content that can meet accessibility requirements is more likely to be user-friendly to everyone. People without disabilities can profit from the accessible design, particularly when they are in limited situations.

It’s The Right Thing To Do

Accessibility allows people with disabilities to enthusiastically participate in society. In addition to being leaders of progress and innovation, institutions of higher education are also viewed as having a certain level of responsibility to society. Accessibility supports this belief as well as UNCG’s mission.

It’s The Law

Plenty of federal and state laws require higher ed institutions to make their web and electronic content accessible to people with disabilities. Violating these laws results in a loss of funding as some universities have faced legal action for web accessibility non-compliance.

What Does Accessibility Compliance do?

Accessibility compliance for your website will ensure strict adherence to ADA and WCAG standards. Not only that, it will protect you from lawsuits too! Also, your SEO and traffic conversions will automatically see an increase!

Here are some features you need to look for:

Multiple Accessibility Adjustments

Make sure the web accessibility tool you choose includes different adjustments like text size, page structure, reading guide, invert colors, dark and light contrasts, accessible fonts, etc.

Powered by A.I. Technology

The tool should be able to handle keyboard navigation and screen reader optimization for the blind and motor-impaired. This can happen through the use of A.I. technology which analyzes your website and remediates accessibility violations in elements on your site.

Customizable Interface

A customizable interface can be a game-changer for your website as it can easily adapt to your website design from shapes, sizes, icons, colors, and more.

Perfect for Different Disabilities

Always choose a tool that will deal with different disabilities rather than specializing in just one! An ideal accessibility tool should help with motor & mobility, aging, color blindness, blindness, blurred vision, epilepsy, etc.

Why should You Make Your Website Accessible?

According to WHO, 15% of the world’s population has a disability that hinders them from navigating the web appropriately, which is approximately 1 billion people! By making your website more accessible, you provide everyone the opportunity to perceive, understand, and interact with your website. Isn’t that just perfect?

How Can Accessibility Spark Benefit You?

Did you know that 98% of the world’s top one million websites don’t provide full accessibility? WebAIM’s study in 2020 found the vast majority of websites don’t offer a completely accessible experience. When put in another way, less than 2% of the world’s one million websites are making the most on the disability market!

For your search engine optimization:

The web accessibility icon enables websites to be more accessible and feasible for their users. Incorporating a web accessibility icon automatically detects your website by making it to the search engine optimization ranking. Positive customer experience and usability are a mutual goal for both the web accessibility icon and search engine optimization. A boost in one of these features is an automatic boost in the other. It was estimated that the websites that used web accessibility icons attracted 30% more traffic than the websites which didn’t.

The web accessibility icon is attractive!

If you are an organizer or an artist, you know that extra features, add ons, or touch-ups add a wonderful look to your pieces. When it comes to websites, adding a few additional features can be attractive. An attractive website automatically makes users stay for long, making them revisit it too! Graphics, images, videos, word art, sounds, speech, etc., are vibrant and excellent reasons for visiting your website.

There are the legal requirements

Various areas and even countries have made laws regarding the accessibility icon to be fair for all the people to avail content/information from the websites. For example, sites will receive funding in the U.S. if they add the feature to their website to encourage the developers to act. Additionally, sites designed for educational purposes need to have an accessibility icon so that every student can avail the opportunity. However, the Americans with Disability Act does not apply the laws to commercial sites; numerous discriminatory laws are used, including equality towards the minority. These reasons may intervene if you do not get the web accessibility icon. Hence, you should get on.

It’s not just about blind people

The web accessibility icon is not just for people with disabilities. It is an additional feature that can be used by the general public as well. It enhances your website, making it possible for various users around the world. For example, a person might understand a specific language but might not be able to read it. Text-to-speech features can help them use the information from your site. Essentially, it will help you attract a good amount of audience.

Wrapping It Up!

Now that you have all the reasons to bring accessibility into your website, what are you going to do? As a game-changing website, Tada prefers Accessibility Spark for accessibility compliance, you should too!

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Tada
Shopify Society

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