The importance of having an accessible and inclusive website can’t be overstated. You must ensure that your brand utilizes ethical practices while appealing to a broad audience base. To ensure you’re at the top of your inclusivity game, read on for some crucial dos and don’ts of crafting an inclusive website.
Do Prioritize Clarity
Clarity is key. Your website should be simple and easy to navigate. It’s also important that users can move through your website using only a keyboard. Logical, clear, and consistent navigation is the cornerstone of an inclusive website.
Do Provide Alternative Text
Ensure that you include alternative text for all your images. This makes your content accessible for visually impaired users, and as a bonus, it improves your SEO.
Do Ensure Readability
Using clear and readable fonts, contrasting text, and background colors is a massive do! It makes your site more legible and adaptable for users with various visual abilities.
Do Find Helpful Tools
Help yourself by finding tools for accessibility audits. Alongside manual checks and user feedback, these tools can ensure a comprehensive approach to auditing for accessibility. They can be especially useful for larger websites as they can quickly detect any issues with navigation, multimedia content, color contrast, keyboard accessibility, and more. This efficiency can help you focus on what needs to be done while providing ample time to continue running other aspects of your website and business.
Do Caption Transcribe and Use Multimedia
Multimedia content is great, as it’s accessible to a broader audience. You should also endeavor to caption and transcribe any audio content on your website. This will greatly benefit those with hearing impairments.
Do Comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
It’s important to be aware of the accessibility guidelines. This will ensure that you have a comprehensive understanding and are taking a standardized approach to accessibility.
Don’t Use Inaccessible Color Combinations
A quick way to make your website difficult for color-blind people is to use colors that are hard to distinguish from each other. Ensure your website maintains readability for users with different color vision deficiencies.
Don’t Forget to Monitor
Don’t assume your job is done once you’ve made your website accessible. You should continue to regularly update your content to keep it fresh and adhere to any changes to accessibility guidelines. Stay informed while monitoring for any upgrades you can make.
Don’t Ignore Interactive Elements
Interactive elements can be great and can upgrade your website, so don’t be afraid to use them. You just need to make sure that you’ve considered accessibility. Provide clear and informative instructions, labels, and error messages that can assist users of your website.
Don’t Underestimate the Impact of accessibility
It’s important to recognize and understand what an accessible website can do for you. Accessible sites improve the overall user experience for everyone, not just those with disabilities. Plus, having an inaccessible website will exclude certain users, and this will reflect on your brand. It shows your values and ethics, which must be considered.
Do you think there’s anything we’ve missed? What are your most important dos and don’ts for creating an inclusive and user-friendly website?
