Designing for Accessibility: Why It’s No Longer Optional
Designing for accessibility is no longer optional in web design. It’s not just a nice, inclusive feature you can decide to use if you think your audience needs it – it’s a basic requirement. Confusing menus, low color contrast, and lack of captions for videos are now so frowned upon, it’s like shooting yourself in the foot. Designing websites with accessibility in mind is so ingrained in our current society that it’s just a part of good design.
Nowadays, we’re used to the internet being easy to use and websites being easy to navigate, so we can find what we’re looking for as fast as possible. Neglecting to follow the rules of accessibility on the web can negatively impact the user experience of your website, and that’s talking about people who don’t actually *need* these accessibility features.
If people land on your website and are immediately confused, overwhelmed, or just can’t make out the text on the page, they’re not going to stick around for long. With so many options available and competitors’ sites just a click away, making the user experience of your website smooth is crucial.
Thinking about websites that are geared to older people, like the senior living clients we work with, you definitely cannot ignore accessibility guidelines. Your contrast needs to be high, your text needs to be large (or have the ability to change with a plugin), and your menus and navigation have to be simple and easy to use.
We recently worked on an *award-winning* microsite for Shenango on The Green, a community in the Presbyterian Senior Care Network, that was 100% designed and built with accessibility for seniors in mind.
A simple three page site contains all the information prospective residents need about the three apartment floor plans with the most availability, with newly updated, downloadable floor plans right there. The background and font colors have plenty of contrast, making it easy to read for everyone, and you can increase the font size without any trouble. With only three pages, the navigation is simple and straightforward.
You can use keyboard arrows, a mouse, or the mousepad on a laptop to navigate the site, making it operable for anyone, regardless of dexterity. While there are no videos on this microsite, we’d have ensured that there were captions if there were any. Captions are one of those things that were created for accessibility, but are now standard practice. Whether you’re hard of hearing or simply watching the video on mute because you’re in a public setting without headphones, captions are essential. Designing for accessibility often drives innovation.
Designing for accessibility ensures that your site can be viewed, navigated, and enjoyed by the largest number of people possible. Don’t let an inaccessible web design keep you from getting more site visits or leads. If your website looks nice and is easy to use for everyone, you’ll get more visitors than if your web design makes it difficult for some to navigate your site. Remember: accessible design improves usability for everyone.
Looking for some assistance making your website more accessible? Reach out to us to learn more about how we can help.
