What is website accessibility, and can it really impact the bottom line of a business? If a website can be used by individuals with disabilities, then it’s considered accessible. In terms of profits, ensuring that your company maintains an accessible website can increase your sales because more people can visit your website. The U.S. Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Judith Heumann, said, “For people without disabilities, technology makes things convenient. For people with disabilities, it makes things possible.”
How to improve blind & color blind website accessibility
Thanks to assistive technology known as screen readers that work by reading aloud website content displayed on computer screens, both blind and visually-impaired individuals are now able to access information on the Internet. Still, there are obstacles that they commonly encounter on some websites. Since screen readers don’t have the ability to read images, your website should include written descriptions within the image tags to help blind visitors understand the photos. Although some images may be necessary to promote your products, if you want to improve website accessibility, your website should not rely solely upon images. A text-driven website will always trump those image-laden sites in the accessibility category.
Respecting those who suffer from color blindness and poor eyesight should also be a concern when designing your website. Since this population struggles with color perception and might only view things in black and white, you’ll want to confirm that your company’s website design is not dependent on colors. Here’s a color blind website accessibility hint: don’t remove the underlining from the links on your page so they are more visible to color-blind individuals visiting your site.
Because failing vision is a common occurrence among the elderly, your website should also remain optimized for those with poor eyesight as well. The text on your company’s website might be too small making it difficult for those with visual ailments to read. Encourage your web designer to update the font size on your website if it’s too small. Here’s a poor vision website accessibility hint: text and background colors should contrast with each other.
Contact us if you’d like us to review and redesign your site for blind and color blind accessibility.