3 Reason Why & 3 Ways How to Improve Accessibility on Your Digital Experience
Note: This is not legal advice. At all. Talk to a lawyer if you have any questions about ADA and how it relates to website accessibility.
Accessibility in digital experiences is a topic that is often ignored, but it's one that all businesses need to be considering. Accessible systems will improve your conversion rates and allow you to focus on what matters most: the user experience.
The rise in ADA lawsuits targeting accessibility issues on websites has caused many businesses to refocus their energies after the fact to create more inclusive, accessible digital experiences, and that's good. But this effort should be done at the front of the project, before the threat of a lawsuit is even whispered to your chief legal counsel. Creating a digital experience with accessibility top-of-mind means creating an experience that is available to more people, easier to navigate and understand, and more likely to drive the business KPI that you spend every working hour trying to improve. If you do it right, your ongoing efforts have exponentially more reach and impact.
Designing an accessible digital experience requires a lot of forethought, but we've compiled 6 reasons why and how accessibility can be part of your design process.
3 Reasons Why Your Website Needs to be Accessible
Reason 1: Accessibility is a Legal Requirement
The ADA and Section 5051 of the California Civil Code require public accommodations to remove barriers, provide auxiliary aids and services, or take other actions that will allow individuals with disabilities who are otherwise qualified to enjoy an equal opportunity for full and independent living.
- The Americans with Disabilities
Accessibility is a right. Full stop.
ADA and the web/digital experiences have been a gray area for quite some time, but lawsuits are setting precedent, and now is the time to get ahead of a potential lawsuit. It used to be thought that in order for ADA to apply to your website you must have physical locations, but eCommerce-only retailers are finding themselves at the receiving end of accessibility lawsuits. You cannot and should not rely on the idea of not having a physical shop as being a reason you do not need to worry about accessibility.
Reason 2: Perfect is great, but progress is important.
In the ideal world, you could create a perfectly accessible digital experience at the start and give yourself a pat on the back, but the more likely scenario is that you have created a website or an app and are now looking at how to make it more accessible. So start where you are and take steps towards providing a better experience. You will learn where mistakes are made and you can make improvements now and learn for the future.
Reason 3: Google Likes Accessible Websites
If you just need to validate the business reason for creating an accessible digital experience, look no further than the potential increase in organic traffic your website might receive from Google/Bing/Duck Duck Go. If your website is accessible, it is also likely structured/built/composed in a way that is easier for search engines to crawl and understand. If they can crawl and understand your website easily, they are going to be able to understand your target audience and where to send them.
An accessible website is like getting free money from Google. Use that as the argument if you need to convince someone to make the investment.
References
3 Ways to Make Your Digital Experience More Accessible
Way 1: Use Accessibility Tools to Diagnose Issues
There are great resources that will scan your website, help identify potential accessibility issues, and provide some information about how you might be able to fix them.
Way 2: Use meaningful tags and descriptions on your images
One of the easiest ways to make your content more accessible is to add meaningful alt tags and title tags to your images. If you have a lot of images on your website, this might take some time, but it is well worth it (both for accessibility and SEO). It can be one of the quickest wins/biggest checkboxes for making improvements to your experience.
Image Alt Text: Describe your image in a way that if someone couldn't view the image, they can understand why it is there and what it is.
Image Title Text: A catchy title for your image that is not as long or as descriptive as your Alt Text.
Look, even Instagram is doing alt text better.
Resources
Way 3: Try a Screen Reader
One of the most common ways that websites are experienced where accessibility is crucial is via a screen reader. You could buy a physical screen reader device, or you can use a software experience. When using a screen reader on your website, ask yourself:
How is the experience?
Does your site still make sense as designed/architected?
Are there any gaps?
Is your website usable for the reasons that your website exists?
Learn more about screen reader options.
Not a Way: Do not rely on plug-ins to solve your problem
There are plug-ins that you can add to your website as a javascript snippet and they can create an experience that is more accessible to people who it detects need assistance (usually based on device type). However, this is not a long-term solution. It is creating a secondary (same-but-equal) experience, not providing truly accessible access to your digital experience. This is another gray area that is likely going to be argued in the courts but don't find yourself relying on a solution that may not be long-term. It can be a good tool to provide temporary support while you create a long-term solution, but it's not a good way to call your website accessible and ready.
Accessibility is Important to People & Your Business
Heed the warnings and be prepared to make accessibility a priority in your design process. If you are not designing with accessibility, then you're missing out on an opportunity for growth that will provide a better customer experience, increase conversion rates, and ultimately bring new customers into your business.
Accessibility is all about providing equal access to everyone, no matter who they are or how they access your digital experience.
