As our society strives to be more inclusive of people with disabilities, this trend is extending to web design as well. Accessibility refers not just to being able to access your website online, but also the ability to use your site effectively, even for those with disabilities.
Disabilities can come in a variety of forms, including visual, auditory, physical and neurological impairments, to name just a few. Accessibility also includes being able to access your website from any device, including desktop and laptop computers, smartphones and tablets.
In order to reach the widest possible audience, you need to take into account the accessibility features of your website. Work with your website developer throughout the web design process to ensure your site meets the following key requirements.
Mobile Responsive Design
Smartphones and tablets have smaller screens than traditional computers do and users navigate using their fingers, rather than a mouse. Your website will display differently on mobile devices than on computers so you need to ensure that your web design looks just as good and is as easy to navigate on any device.
Clear Text Formatting
Not all of your readers will have perfect vision. Your site needs to be easy for anyone to read, even those with poor vision. Take care in the web design process to choose your colour scheme so that the text stands out from the background. Avoid fonts that are overly ornate as these can be difficult to decipher for those with visual impairments. Break up large blocks of text with subheadings for easy scanning.
Alt-Text for Images
Some users won’t be able to see the images on your site. Be sure to include alt-text for each image. This should be a brief description of what is depicted in the image so that blind and other visually impaired site visitors can understand why you included a particular image, even if they can’t physically see it.
Keyboard Functionality
Not everyone is able to use a mouse to operate a computer. For these individuals, your website needs to be able to be operated using the keyboard. Your web developer can incorporate this type of functionality during the web development process.
For more help in ensuring your website is as accessible as possible, get in touch with us here at Design Point. We offer expert web design and hosting services and we can help your business achieve the web presence you need to be successful in the modern world. Reach out to us today to get started.