Web accessibility is now a matter that goes beyond simple device accessibility. It is a matter of universal access to the web regardless of any kind of physical or cognitive issues. Today it is crucial to make the right choices regarding accessible website design as it is now a part of legal compliance guidelines in many different countries. Making the website accessible is not only for the users, however. Through accessible design, one can expand the target user base and get more traffic on the site, which equals more revenues.
So in this ‘win-win’ situation, what kind of design do you need to make the site easy to use for everyone out there? Let’s find out, shall we?
Design Tips For Guaranteed Web Accessibility
The surest path to make a site accessible is through its design. With accessible design thinking, you can make the site useful to the audience regardless of their issues, and expand the target user base. So what kind of accessible website design methods will help you to achieve maximum accessibility on the website? Here are some examples.
Add Texts To Visual Elements On The Site
Adding visual elements such as images and videos on the web pages is one of the popular practices in web design. However, users with hearing or visual disabilities might find it harder to consume such visual content without proper textual cues.
And that’s why adding text-based details to such visual content is a necessary part of the accessible website requirements list. For images, adding descriptive alt texts, and for videos adding subtitles will help all users understand the content on an equal level, increasing the accessibility of the site.
Support Keyboard-Only Navigation
Web navigation makes up a huge chunk of web accessibility, and there’s no denying that. And in such a scenario, making the site usable through both keyboards only and the keyboard-less process can be the key to integrate accessibility in web design in a proper manner.
Users with motor disabilities might find it hard to navigate the site through the use of mouse or track pad. For these users, making web pages accessible through keyboard navigation will be the best possible decision. They can simply use the tab key to surf through the web pages, which will be easier and less taxing. The same goes for those users who cannot use keyboards for web page navigation. For such users, making the site compatible with speech recognition software will increase the level of accessibility, bringing in better business opportunities.
Label The Forms Perfectly
The use of placeholder texts on website forms is a popular practice. However, for users with visual disabilities, it might be a little hard to understand the texts, as the placeholder texts tend to be a little lighter than original text elements. Not to mention that users might also have a hard time remembering what kind of information they have to put into the field. And that’s why to make websites accessible, designers might need to stop using placeholder texts.
Even though placeholder texts can save on-screen real estate and make a place for other more important content, it is a wise decision to not use it. Placeholder texts might violate various accessibility design guidelines. That’s why it is better to use overhead labels for the forms that will not only help users to fill them effectively but also help in making navigation easier.
Use Colors And Contrast Perfectly
The use of colors to improve focus on specific elements of the site is an important factor in design. With that being said, only using colors as cues to point out important elements, which need focus can be problematic when integrating accessibility in UX design.
And that’s why rather than using subtle changes in colors and contrasts, most of the experienced web design agencies based in major cities like New York use text and pattern cues to create accessible design for the website. Use weighted texts and underlines for linked texts within paragraphs to distinguish them from other texts. For cautionary messages, use the right icons and texts, rather than simple colors. Remember that while the use of vibrant colors is one of the best ways to make the site a visual treat, the sole reliance on it might hinder your efforts to make the site accessible.
Define Hierarchy Using Right Headings
UI accessibility to some extent depends on the hierarchy of the page content as well. Using proper headings that define the subject of the following content is going to be crucial for the design of an accessible site.
Making the headings bigger and easier to perceive will assist users with low-vision to scan the content easily without any hassle. The proper use of headings enables screens reader programs to read the content. The right integration of headings and tags communicate with the browsers on what kind of content it is, helping the site to arrange an accessibility tree. This accessibility tree helps screen readers to read out the page and its content to the users with visual issues, enhancing accessibility in web design.
Wrapping Up: Accessible Design Thinking Is The Key To Design Success
Just as you follow various web design business tips to increase the business success of the website, make sure to follow the above-mentioned design accessibility tips. Ignoring this will cost the business and the website severely. So before starting on the design, find the right answer to the question of how to make a website accessible.
