What is Website Accessibility, and Why Does it Matter?

    accessibility

    Your website’s accessibility is an important web design factor to consider, and the topic has been becoming an increasingly hot one lately within the web development community.

    What is Website Accessibility?

    Put simply, website accessibility is a website’s ability to be easily usable for all people–including those with various disabilities (such as lack of vision, hearing, or motor skills).

    In order to be compliant with accessiblity standards, a website must adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, also known as WCAG 2.0.

    Why Does Website Accessibility Matter?

    In their article The Ultimate Guide to Accessibility and WordPress, developer resource WPMU DEV contends:

    Not sure why accessibility is valuable? Accessible sites have benefits including faster load speed, better SEO and being good for PR. Plus making an accessible site is just the right thing to do.

    Not to mention, by making your website easier to use for people with disabilities, you are also making your site easier to use for everyone else.  And making your site easier for everyone to use is always a good thing.

    But Does Your Website NEED to Be Accessible?

    The short answer is–it depends.

    In their article Save Yourself From Getting Sued… Improve your Web Accessibility Now, Promet Source points out:

    Just because your site isn’t made up of brick and mortar, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act Title III, or so said District Judge Scola in 2017 when he concluded that Winn Dixie had violated the ADA by having an inaccessible website.

    How Do You Make Your Website Accessible?

    The process starts with an audit of your website. The audit would be focused on assessing various aspects of your website, including content, images, audio files, and more.  From there, it can be determined what needs to be done to bring your website into compliance with WCAG 2.0 standards.

    If you’d like help making your website accessible, contact us today to schedule a free consultation.