{"id":13752,"date":"2022-03-09T14:40:02","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T14:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getdevdone.com\/blog\/?p=13752"},"modified":"2026-05-22T15:42:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:42:59","slug":"web-accessibility-is-more-relevant-than-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getdevdone.com\/blog\/web-accessibility-is-more-relevant-than-you-think.html","title":{"rendered":"Why Web Accessibility Matters and How to Make Your Website More Accessible"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
As the world\u2019s population ages and more and more people use the Internet, the need for accessibility grows. Not only does your website and application need to adapt to different browsers and speeds, it needs to adapt to the needs of those with visual, hearing, or other impairments. That\u2019s why web accessibility is rapidly becoming a more important consideration when designing for today\u2019s Internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What Is Website Accessibility?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A website is considered to be accessible if its content is easily available to everyone; no matter the level of impairment they might have. The World Wide Web Consortium has developed guidelines for making websites accessible. While the guidelines cover a wide range of accessibility issues, they can\u2019t address the individual needs of every person. The goal is to present content in a way that is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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easily perceivable<\/li>\n\n\n\n
easily operated<\/li>\n\n\n\n
clearly understandable<\/li>\n\n\n\n
able to be interpreted reliably<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
How Will Making Your Site Accessible Help People With Disabilities? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Visual Impairment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Visually impaired people can access their information with the help of \u201cscreen readers\u201d. These programs read the printed text out loud, which helps unseeing people use computers and receive access to a text content of any kind. It also provides an opportunity to read a newspaper independently without waiting for expensive records and additional aids. They can just open the browser and listen to a screen-reader. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Physical Impairment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
For people with physical disabilities, who can\u2019t just pick up the paper and turn the pages they can get the access to online news portals with the help of their computer using technologies that were designed to adapt the computer interface to their disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hearing Impairment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
People who are hard of hearing have always had the opportunity to read the papers on their own. However, when it comes to video materials, they can read typed versions of important speeches or watch multimedia content with subtitles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Accessible Design Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, many designers aren\u2019t aware of accessibility issues or don\u2019t think that the population requiring special accessibility is large enough to invest the time and resources necessary to connect in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s a mistake. It\u2019s currently too large a population to be ignored and the growth trend is upwards. The World Health Organization estimates that there are about 285 million people in the world who are visually impaired. Estimates are that every day 100 more people begin to lose their sight. That\u2019s an additional 36,500 people every year! The numbers represent real people; and that\u2019s a huge number of people to ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These numbers are only going to increase. Almost 90% of the population over the age of 65 has cataracts that affect color perception. The baby-boomer generation is aging and as they age they will encounter the normal vision and hearing problems associated with growing older. The baby-busters are hot on their heels and they are already voracious consumers of Internet content. That won\u2019t change as they age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, many people with disabilities live in developing areas and are just now getting access to the Internet. As the internet penetrates deeper into these communities, you\u2019ve got the opportunity to reach a larger audience if you\u2019ve crafted your design to be accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just because a person has a vision, hearing, physical, or cognitive disability doesn\u2019t mean that they don\u2019t need access to your content. Making your design accessible won\u2019t ruin the aesthetics or destroy functionality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just because a person has a vision, hearing, physical, or cognitive disability doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t need access to your content. Making your design accessible won\u2019t ruin the aesthetics or destroy functionality. It helps more people use your website and makes the experience more resilient across devices, input methods, and assistive technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Savvy teams use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as the main reference point for accessible web design and development. WCAG 2.2 is the current W3C recommendation, while many legal and procurement requirements still reference earlier WCAG versions. For example, the revised U.S. Section 508 standards are still based on WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA requirements. In practice, this means teams should understand both the current WCAG guidance and the specific compliance standard required for a project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Is Accessibility Important to Your Business? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
You may ask, ‘How exactly will I benefit from accessibility?’ or ‘Why should I worry about making my site more accessible?’ Here are a couple of reasons why it is important to make your site more accessible for people with disabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Increase Your Audience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you do not feel the need to make your website more accessible, then you\u2019re excluding a large amount of potential visitors to your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The web is there to provide information to everyone. There will definitely be people in your audience who are not able to see, hear or simply pick up the mouse, and it is up to you to make your website more accessible for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Improve Your Reputation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
By making your website more accessible you will increase the customer satisfaction and, thus, improve or regain your website\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Increase Usability<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Making your web site more accessible will not only benefit people with disabilities. Increased usability ensures that your visitors can carry out their tasks effectively and efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Improve Search Engine Optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Accessibility and SEO often support each other, but accessibility does not automatically guarantee higher rankings. Clear headings, descriptive link text, meaningful alt text, readable content, and clean HTML can help both users and search engines understand a page better. For images specifically, Google uses alt text together with page content and other signals to understand the image. So accessibility work can support SEO, but it should not be presented as a direct ranking shortcut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ethics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
People are all equal in their rights to receive information. It doesn\u2019t matter if they speak a different language, have a certain disability, or lack access to a certain technology. Choosing to make your website more accessible to all your visitors goes to show that you really care about your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Designing for Accessibility: Tips <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
People with visual disabilities may use screen reader apps to help them cruise the net and consume content. It\u2019s important to keep in mind the requirements of screen-reader apps as well as the needs of the person using the app. Here are a few tips for website design. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accessibility-Ready Themes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you are a fan of WordPress themes, start with the one that has been tagged as accessibility-ready. These themes already take many of the following guidelines into consideration. Make use of the WP-Accessibility Plugin too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consistent Structure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Make sure you use a consistent layout. The main elements such as navigation and banners should appear in the same locations on every page. Make sure your markup is consistent as well. There should be only one h1 element per page and the content should be similar to the page\u2019s title. Remember to use headings in the proper order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alt Text<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Alternative text tags are for more than SEO. They should provide a textual and contextual description of the image. If the image is just decorative, you can handle it with CSS. If it contains content, the alt text should describe the function of the link and not the image itself. Remember that the text should allow a person who can\u2019t see the image to get the same information as a person who can see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Forms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Keep forms as short as possible. Only ask for the information you need. Users with all levels of ability will appreciate this. If there are errors in the fields when the form is submitted, make sure the error is clearly indicated. General error messages can be hard enough for site visitors without disabilities to decipher. Make sure the error message clearly indicates which field in the form needs to be corrected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tables<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Avoid using nested data tables. Visitors using assistive technologies may have problems navigating between cells. Include a brief summary of the table’s content in the summary text box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Audio and Video Files<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Video players and audio players should not be set to auto-play. Include closed captioning for videos and transcripts for audio files for the hearing impaired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Color Usage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t let color be the only way you convey information. For example, if you rely on color alone to show hyperlinks, your color blind audience might not be able to tell the difference in text. Did you know that almost 8% of the male population is color blind? Use underlines or borders to indicate links. Be mindful of the amount of contrast you use for the background color and the text color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Auto Refresh<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t include pages that automatically reload on a periodic basis. Not all readers or screen readers will cover the material quickly and the user may not have finished reading the text before the page refreshes. Imagine how frustrating that would be!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GetDevDone Makes Accessibility Easy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We understand that you want your designs to reach as many people as possible. When you start your order, you can specify accessibility requirements for your project, including WCAG-oriented development or Section 508-related requirements where relevant. Our team can help convert your design into clean HTML\/CSS that works across modern browsers and supports common assistive technology needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accessibility still requires clear project requirements, proper design decisions, semantic markup, keyboard-friendly interactions, readable content, and testing. We can help with the development side so your team has a stronger technical foundation for an accessible website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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