How To Make Your Website More Accessible

Don't leave visually impaired users in the dark! Alt text provides textual descriptions of images, allowing screen reader users to understand the visual content. Take an extra 30 seconds to add a description to the next image you upload.

Here's a few tips from Harvard on how to write good alt text:

• Keep it short and descriptive, like a tweet.
• Don’t include “image of” or “photo of” at the beginning of the description. (It's implied)
• Leave alt text blank if the image is purely decorative
• It's not necessary to add text in the Title field.

By including descriptive alt text, you ensure that all users, regardless of their visual abilities, can fully comprehend and engage with the information your images convey.

Enhancing content readability is paramount for visually impaired users. By optimising fonts, colour contrast, and text formatting, you create an accessible environment where visually impaired individuals can easily read and comprehend content.

Guide your users with clarity and structure. Organising your website's content with clear headings and logical structure will help all of your customers find what they're looking for.

Clear headings provide users, especially those with screen readers, with a roadmap to quickly navigate and understand your content.

By using proper HTML heading tags and maintaining a logical information architecture, you ensure that users can easily find the information they need and comprehend the relationships between different sections.

You'll also avoid creating a website that looks like this:

Ever had to strain your eyes to read dark blue text placed on top of a black background? Then you've experienced poor colour contrast.

Checking your colour contrast is vital for visually impaired users, especially those with low vision or colour blindness.

High contrast between text and background ensures that individuals with low vision can read content more easily. Additionally, colour-blind users rely on sufficient contrast to differentiate between elements of your website.

To test how well your website meets the standards for colour contrast, you can use tools like The WebAIM Contrast Checker or Colour Contrast Analyser.

These tools are free and easy to use - they'll even provide recommendations if any changes need to be made.

Sometimes, size DOES matter. Checking your text and font size is essential for visually impaired users.

By ensuring a sufficient and adjustable font size, you enhance readability and legibility for individuals with low vision. This allows them to comfortably read the content without straining their eyes.

Making your website keyboard accessible is essential for users who cannot use a mouse or other input device. They must be able to navigate and access content using the Tab, arrow, Enter, and Escape keys.

When dealing with tabular data, make sure that user agents can distinguish between the table headings and data cells. To do this, use proper HTML markup so the user agent can recognise the relationships between the table's content.

If you're not sure how to do this on your business website, reach out to a web development agency for support.

Checking your website's mobile responsiveness is crucial for visually impaired users, as many rely on mobile devices for web browsing.

A responsive design ensures that your content adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes, allowing users to access the website with ease.

If your website was made 10 years ago and hasn't been updated since, your website design is probably due for an update.

Form fields should also be labelled appropriately so that screen reader users can identify what type of information they are supposed to enter in the field. Being mindful of the language used in form labels is key to providing accessible content.

Additionally, including instructions on how to fill out the form will help ensure users understand exactly what is expected from them when completing it.

Clear form fields create an accessible website experience for all customers. Clear instructions and concise descriptions will make navigating your site easier for everyone who visits it.

Captions provide a text-based representation of the audio content, allowing individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to engage with your videos.

By providing video captions, you ensure that all users can access and understand the information conveyed in your videos.

• Use accurate and synchronised captions that align with the audio content
• Ensure captions are easy to read with clear font styles and appropriate colour contrast
• Include speaker identification to differentiate between different individuals speaking
• Display captions consistently throughout the entire video, including any important audio or sound effects
• Check the accuracy and quality of automated captioning and make necessary edits for clarity
• Provide an option to toggle captions on or off, giving users control over their viewing preferences
• Comply with accessibility standards outlined by the World Wide Web Consortium and their Web Content Accessibility Guidelines for captioning requirements

For when your users can't hear loud and clear. Transcripts provide a written version of the audio content, allowing individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to access and understand the information.

By providing audio transcripts, you ensure equal access to auditory content, making your website inclusive and accommodating to all.

Now that you have incorporated audio transcripts into your website, it is time to look at incorporating ARIA attributes.

ARIA stands for Accessible Rich Internet Applications and it helps people with disabilities understand the content on your website.

When using ARIA attributes, you are creating a web page that can be understood by assistive technologies, such as screen readers and speech recognition software.

When incorporating ARIA attributes into your website, it is important to use evaluation tools to ensure that they are properly implemented. Evaluation tools allow you to test the accessibility of your website and make sure that it meets the standards set out in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Additionally, these tools can help you identify areas where additional improvements need to be made.

• Colour Contrast Accessibility Validator
• Web accessibility compliance Score
• Visual impairment accessibility considerations

Break down the language barriers! Providing multi-language support enhances accessibility by accommodating diverse language preferences and ensuring that users can fully comprehend the content.

By offering language options and translation features, you can create an inclusive digital environment that caters to the needs of users from various backgrounds, fostering equal access and engagement.

1. Offer a language selection option on the homepage
   
   Make sure your website allows customers to choose their preferred language from a visible menu, located on the homepage or another prominent page. This will allow customers to select the most comfortable language for them to interact with your website.
   
   
2. Use assistive devices when needed
   
   For those who cannot read text in any language, use assistive devices such as screen readers that can speak aloud information in multiple languages.
   
   
3. Provide visual cues for sighted users
   
   Incorporate visual cues like flags or symbols associated with different languages, so that sighted users can quickly identify which language they prefer.
   

Put your website to the test!

Regular testing helps identify and address any accessibility barriers or issues that may impede users' ability to navigate and engage with your content.

By making testing a part of your regular maintenance routine, you can continuously improve and enhance the accessibility of your website.

If you're in the process of searching for a new web design agency, ask if website testing is a service they offer.