The Internet has become a basic necessity in recent times. Just think about it: How do people stay up-to-date with recent happenings? Where did you explore relations and employment? Many individuals even met over the internet for the first time and turned to be life partners. Yes! Everything revolves around the World Wide Web.
There is no denying that the internet is used for nearly everything and there is a long way to go. So, why not make your website easier to access by all and sundry without any discrimination? The question might be confusing for many people because the websites are already the ever-present entities for all the individuals connected to the internet. But, if your website offers easy access to all those who are living with disabilities?
If you have just realized the gravity of the matter, the article is going to help you understand the importance of higher usability for handicapped people as well as easy ways to ensure accessibility.
Many tools and apps are available in the market to help such people take advantage of the internet. However, it is imperative to incorporate various design elements into your website that are handicapped-friendly. For this, it is better to get assistance from professional web design companies because they know how to optimize web pages for increased accessibility for disabled persons.
Why disability-friendly website design?
According to the WorldBank, 15 percent or 1 billion individuals of the total population across the world are living with some kind of disability. In this way, 1/5 of the overall global population experience significant disabilities.
However, not every disabled person feels difficulty in using the internet. For instance, the people on wheelchairs and walkers can easily access the website. But, other people who have autism, visual impairment or deafness are unable to get complete benefits of the internet by accessing websites.
So, website accessibility is a suggestion in some regions, but in many countries, it is a compulsion for all websites owners to ensure friendly websites for disables. Don’t believe it? Consider Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Accessibility law of Brazil, eEurope Action Plan and Australia Disability Discrimination Act for reference.
Web Design Tips to Ensure Website Accessibility for Disabled Users
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has created extensive lists of guidelines for making websites more comfortable to use for disables through its Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Therefore, it is required by every website to comply with the curated rules and regulations to enable increased accessibility to all individuals without any discrimination.
So, easy tips for website design are prepared while keeping the Global Accessibility Guidelines in mind to help you optimize your websites accordingly:
Use images alt tags
The use of images on the website not only brings visual appeal but also considered an easy way of information presentation. But, consider the people with visual impairment who might not be able to grasp information provided through pictures.
The solution is straightforward, use alternative tags for all images used on your website. Alt tags are used to include a brief description of every picture used within the web pages. Don’t forget to keep your image alt tags short but precise and creative.
Interestingly, these tags are not just helpful to blind or visually impaired users but also help you in optimizing your website for search engines.
Use Predictable Navigation
Website navigation is the most critical component that enables users to access their required information. The trends in navigation are rapidly changing over the years such as hamburger menus. It is essential to keep the navigation for your website should be consistent and precise.
Generally, websites have a top menu with dropdown tabs for different pages and a footer menu. In order to make the navigation equally accessible for disabled people, better to use appropriate icons with menu tabs.
Further, consistency in menu design across various devices should be maintained properly. It means that if you are using the About Us tab next to the home button, it should be the same in the mobile version of your website. Don’t forget to incorporate easy to understandable icons.
Restrict Auto-Play Videos/Audios
You have seen many websites that play visual content automatically after loading in the browser. Such video and audio are very disturbing not only for the ordinary people but also for the individuals who are living with disabilities. You should not use include auto-play visuals in your website designs.
The main reason for restricting this type of content is that disable people might not be able to close or stop the video played automatically. Owing to this, noisy visuals are not desired in a higher accessibility website.
Instead, you can add a separate section for video and audio in the widget area of your website. This will help the users to pick their desired visual to get the information. Don’t forget to consider all types of users while getting your website designed.
Use big and bold text
Content is the foremost important thing for which users visit any website. Therefore the typography of your website should be clear, considerably large and bold to be read by all people. However, it is not all about making your website text big, bigger, biggest but large enough to be readable.
Generally, Sans serif font styles are considered suitable for ease of readability. Ask your website designers to select appropriate style, font size, and color to enable the people with limited vision to get information accessibility.
However, it is not necessary for visually impaired people, but dyslexia patients should also be considered. Remember to use 16px font size with Google accepted typography to assist users accessing information quickly.
Make website keyboard enabled
Many disabled people might feel difficulty in grasping mouse for website navigation. In other cases, there might be some people who cannot use the touchpad to use computers. So, how will you ensure website accessibility for them?
You simply need to make your website enabled for keyboard shortcuts. Not only this, speech recognition and other such tools are getting higher popularity across the world for almost all type of users. Your website should be compatible with all these tools and techniques to ensure higher accessibility.
Owing to this, website owners should consider acquiring professional assistance from web design service providers for up-to-date solutions. No doubt, industry experts know local and international laws for website compatibility and accessibility.
Parting Note!
Summing up, websites are basic modes of information dissemination. So, every user should have equal accessibility. In this regard, website owners cannot ignore the accessibility needs of disabled persons. So, if you are a website owner, you must comply with global laws to ensure equal access to your provided information.
If you have done with the website designing phase, don’t forget to get the website code testified by professional web design Dubai based company to ensure all accessibility requirements are fulfilled.
Recommended Posts: