Why Investing in Digital Accessibility Is Good for Business

Embracing inclusive design may seem like a lot of work. But if your business operates online, the benefits are too important to ignore.

In a recent webinar called “The Business Case for Digital Accessibility,” UK charity Abilitynet explains the many reasons why. You can watch the recording for free on YouTube or click the play button above on the embedded video. The slides for the webinar are also available here.

Don’t have time to listen to the 50-minute webinar? Well, then I’ve already done that for you.

Here I picked out the top reasons for why it’s time to jump on the digital accessibility bandwagon.

1. The global disability market is the size of China and is expected to grow.

There are 1.1 billion people in the world who have a disability and they control more than $6 trillion a year. In the United Kingdom, where the webinar speakers are based, the “purple pound” refers to the disposable income of people with disabilities and their families. Their spending is worth £249 billion a year to the region’s economy.

Clearly, there is a tremendous market opportunity smart businesses won’t want to miss. Also, since there is a growing aging population worldwide, the number of people with disabilities is also expected to increase.

2. Inclusive design creates better usability for everyone.

When effort goes into making websites and apps accessible to people with various disabilities, entire customer bases can benefit from the resulting user experience.

3. 90% of websites don’t meet the lowest level of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Stand out from your competitors by making the move to inclusive design. Meeting the WCAG also forces websites to run more efficiently. It also gives them a better natural Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ranking.

4. Focusing on accessibility saves money.

It costs more to retrofit a website or product than it does to incorporate inclusive design from the start. Prioritizing accessibility also mitigates legal risk, since businesses are less likely to face litigation as a result of supporting discriminatory practices — even inadvertently.

5. Gain better brand reputation.

Getting bragging rights for social corporate responsibility may not be the main motivation of a business. However, catering to people with a range of disabilities by making the Internet a friendly and accessible place is nothing to scoff at.

Admittedly, this website has a ways to go to fully embracing inclusive design. This is something I want to focus on more as I have more spare time free up to work on TechAble.World. Stay tuned for updates on my progress and the inevitable issues I’ll run into as I take on my DIY approach.

Image source: Poakpong

Originally published at TechAble World.