Learn About Web Accessibility: A Complete Guide by EcomBack
Web accessibility is the practice of making websites usable by everyone, including people with disabilities. An inclusive digital world ensures everyone has equal access to information and functionality on the web.
EcomBack is dedicated to helping businesses understand and implement web accessibility standards. This guide will delve into the basics of web accessibility, the importance of ADA compliance, and practical steps to make your website accessible.
What is Web Accessibility?
Web accessibility refers to websites, tools, and technologies designed to be inclusive, meaning everyone can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the web with zero barriers.
An accessible website caters to people with all disabilities, including auditory, cognitive, neurological, physical, speech, and visual. Web accessibility also benefits people scrolling the web on their phones or other devices with small screens, people dealing with a slow internet connection, as well as senior citizens with age-related impairments.
Commitment to accessibility reflects a business’s dedication to social responsibility and inclusivity, enhancing brand image and customer loyalty.
Why Web Accessibility Matters
In addition to providing an inclusive experience to all users, web accessibility can be beneficial in many other ways. For instance, by making your site accessible, you reach a larger market of users who might have disabilities or preferences that require accessible features.
Accessible websites can lead to higher engagement rates, as users who find a site easy to use are more likely to return and recommend it to others. These benefits are especially important for e-commerce sites as accessibility may help expand your customer base since more people can shop independently online.
Additionally, web accessibility can boost search engine rankings as it aligns with SEO best practices. For instance, alt text for images, which aids visually impaired users, also helps search engines understand the image content.
Search engines favor websites that provide a good user experience, which includes easy navigation and readable content — both key aspects of web accessibility. Accessible websites are often more navigable and understandable, leading to lower bounce rates and higher time on the site, which positively impact search engine rankings.
Following web accessibility guidelines also ensure your company lowers its risk of facing legal action. There has been a notable rise in lawsuits related to web accessibility, making compliance a key factor in legal risk management.
Avoid Legal Repercussions by Adhering to ADA Standards
Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is crucial for businesses. The ADA was established as a civil rights law in 1990 and aims to prevent discrimination against individuals with disabilities in various aspects of public life, such as employment and education. The law is designed to ensure that people with disabilities enjoy equal rights and opportunities. The digital realm is also expected to be an inclusive environment for these individuals.
Businesses that fail to comply with ADA standards risk facing legal action.
Global Legal Requirements
Compliance is not just a local issue but a global one. Beyond the ADA, various countries have their own accessibility laws, such as the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) in Canada or the Equality Act in the UK.
There’s also the European Accessibility Act (EAA), which affects a large portion of companies in the EU. All private business trading within the EU’s 27 member states needs to comply in order to prevent hefty fines and other penalties. Recently, the EAA incorporated new web accessibility guidelines in its framework, which are based on the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Regardless of your company’s location, it’s crucial to stay informed about accessibility laws in your area and keep up-to-date with new regulations.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2
The WCAG 2.2, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), provides a set of guidelines to make web content more accessible.
The guidelines are categorized into three levels of conformance: A (lowest), AA, and AAA (highest). For additional information on success criteria, read WCAG’s document titled “Understanding Levels of Conformance.”
What are the Standards of WCAG?
According to WCAG, all digital information should follow these four principles, which are known by the acronym POUR: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
Perceivable
Information on a website should be presented in ways that are discernible to all users, regardless of their sensory abilities. This means including text alternatives (like alt text) for non-written content, and considering other aspects like color contrast, text size, and audio control.
Content should be presented in different ways (such as a simpler layout) without losing information or structure and should be easily distinguished from other content, such as separating foreground from background.
Operable
Operability ensures that all users can interact with all controls and navigation on your site. For instance, keyboard accessibility ensures that all functionality is available to users who cannot use a mouse.
Other ways to help users navigate and find content include clear headers, labels, and the ability to bypass blocks of content. It’s also important that the content is designed to avoid causing seizures and physical reactions. This includes avoiding flashing content that can trigger seizures.
Understandable
Ensure that information and the operation of the user interface are easy to understand. All text content should be easy to read and written in clear, simple language. Web pages must operate in predictable ways to help users with cognitive limitations to better comprehend and use the content. Clear error messages and suggestions help users avoid mistakes, such as failing to enter information into a form before submitting it.
Robust
Ensuring robustness means creating content that is easily understood and interpreted by a diverse range of user agents, including assistive technologies such as screen readers.
Accessible Websites Need These Key Features
Alt Text for Images: Alt text is a cornerstone of web accessibility, allowing visually impaired users to understand the content conveyed by images. From a commercial perspective, using descriptive alt text not only improves accessibility but also enhances your website’s SEO, making your content more discoverable on search engines.
Keyboard Navigation: Essential for individuals who cannot use a mouse, keyboard navigation facilitates website access through simple keyboard controls. This feature is not just about inclusivity; it’s about ensuring that every potential customer can navigate your site seamlessly, thus widening your market reach.
Accessible Forms: User-friendly forms with clear labels and instructions are vital for users, particularly those with cognitive disabilities. Accessible forms enhance the user experience and increase the likelihood of successful interactions on your website, such as sign-ups or purchases.
Contrast and Color: Good contrast and thoughtful use of color use are not just about aesthetics; they’re about making content readable for everyone, including users with color vision deficiencies. This consideration can significantly improve user engagement and satisfaction.
Captions and Transcripts: Providing captions and transcripts for multimedia content caters to deaf and hard-of-hearing users and also benefits users in sound-sensitive environments.
Create an Accessibility Toolkit
To ensure your website is ADA-accessible, start by implementing these key components in your toolkit.
- Comprehensive Web-Based Automated Accessibility Checkers
Automated checkers, such as WAVE or AXE, can scan your website and highlight issues that might hinder accessibility. They provide a quick and efficient way to identify potential problems, such as missing alt text and insufficient contrast.
These tools should be the first step in determining what issues you need to solve. However, it’s important to remember that they can’t catch every accessibility issue. They should be used in conjunction with manual testing and user feedback.
- Browser Extensions for Accessibility Testing
Many accessibility evaluation tools offer browser extensions, allowing you to easily assess web pages during development and make immediate adjustments. Browser extensions are useful when you want to simply click a button in your toolbar and quickly identify accessibility issues on your website. It also provides recommendations on how to fix them.
- Screen Reader Software
Using screen readers like NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) or JAWS (Job Access With Speech) is crucial for visually impaired users as it reads aloud the content of a web page and helps them identify areas where navigation or content comprehension might be challenging.
It’s important to note that different screen readers have different capabilities and modes of operation, so you should test out navigating your website with multiple screen readers to provide a more comprehensive understanding of accessibility across platforms.
- WCAG Compliance Checklists
Utilize checklists based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to methodically ensure that your site meets the necessary standards for accessibility. Depending on your audience and the nature of your website, you might also need to develop custom checklists that address specific accessibility concerns relevant to your users.
- Color Contrast Analyzers
Tools like a color contrast analyzer can help ensure that your text and background colors meet the minimum contrast ratios required for readability.
- Keyboard Accessibility Testing Tools
Ensure that your website is fully accessible via keyboard navigation, as this is a critical aspect of user experience. Utilizing tools or manual testing to simulate navigation without a mouse can effectively reveal and address any potential barriers to accessibility.
- Mobile Accessibility Testing
With the increasing use of mobile devices, ensuring your website is accessible on smartphones and tablets is essential. This includes testing touchscreen accessibility and mobile screen reader compatibility.
- Regular Accessibility Audits
Regularly auditing your website for accessibility issues helps maintain compliance with legal standards and ensures a consistently positive user experience, reflecting your brand’s commitment to inclusivity. The field of web accessibility is continually evolving so always make sure you are using the latest tools and best practices if you want to maintain compliance.
- Training and Awareness
Educating your team about the importance of web accessibility fosters an inclusive culture within your organization. When your team understands the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of accessibility, they are more likely to implement it effectively.
- User Testing with Diverse Groups
In your website’s testing phase, it’s important you involve a diverse range of users, including those with disabilities, to provide valuable feedback. This practice helps identify and address potential accessibility issues, ensuring an optimal experience for all users when the website launches.
EcomBack Prioritizes Inclusive Digital Accessibility
EcomBack is dedicated to helping businesses create accessible websites. Specializing in ADA compliance and adhering to WCAG guidelines, EcomBack is continuously evolving its approaches to meet the dynamic demands of web accessibility, ensuring that every digital interaction is an inclusive, equitable experience for all users.
Let us pave the way for a more inclusive digital world. Contact us today.
