Website Accessibility: Why is it Important?
Website accessibility or accessible computing, refers to the accessibility of web and computer systems, regardless of a persons disability or impairment. Windows and macOS both provide display modification options, such as magnification and inverting colours helping those with difficulty seeing, text-to-speech to provide audible descriptions of objects and text on the screen and dictation can be used to perform common tasks with vocal commands.
Why is Accessibility Important?
Accessibility is important as The Disability Discrimination Act stipulates that businesses and services must make reasonable adjustments for disabled individuals. Not providing this service to disabled people is discrimination and is punishable by law.
How you Can Make your Website Accessible
The following are best practices to ensure your website is accessible in all areas:
- Web developers can embed the image Alt Tag into the HTML code in order for the image to be accessible to disabled individuals
- Text should accompany non-text elements e.g. pictures and graphics
- Information that is colour-specific should also be able to be explained in non-colour e.g a green button implying ‘good’ should have an alternative
- Foreground and background colours should contrast so individuals who have difficulty differentiating colours can clearly view content
- To ensure these steps are useful it would be wise to test and retest your website, potentially by an outside developer in order to establish usability
- Creating a focus group or study with disabled individuals would be insightful as this would allow you to gain direct feedback from them.
From a business point of view it is important to apply these accessibility changes as it will reflect positively on your company and show you value equality fairness. If you need help with making your website more accessible, contact us today and we can be of assistance. For more information on accessibility and how you can implement it, see our blog here.
