10 Essential Accessibility Features Every Website Should Have
A site is also likely to be the initial interaction between a company and its clients in the digital world today. However, when not all of your viewers can access your site completely, what will you do? Individuals with disabilities, such as visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities, can be hindered by factors and fail to access your content. This is where web accessibility characteristics come into play.
Inclusivity is not just a good idea to design into your business, but it also makes business sense. Websites that are easy to access are more likely to be visited, increase their positions in the search results, as well as be processed in accordance with legal provisions, including the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). The correct accessibility features to a site will guarantee equal access by every visitor.
These are 10 features that must be included in any website.
1. Keyboard Navigation
Not everyone uses the web using a mouse. There are those that solely depend on keyboards, switches or assistive technology. The really accessible site enables the visitor to navigate through menus, links, buttons, and forms with the Tab, Enter, and Arrow keys only.
An example is that, when your navigation menu is using dropdowns, they are to be expanded and contracted with input of the keyboards. The right focus indicators such as having an outline visible around the active elements will assist the users to state specifically where they are on a page.
2. Alternative Text for Images
Images give web content a richer look and feel and when such content lacks alt text, the screen reader users are unable to get the richness of the content. Alternative text is what defines what an image teaches and makes visually impaired users get the same information as others.
Rather than saying picture or image123, have such meaningful descriptions:
Poor: image of product
Better: Adjustable-height, adjustable armrest black leather office chair.
Strong alt text enhances accessibility and search engines also use these descriptions.
3. Sufficient Color Contrast
Color is a very big aspect of readability. Users who have low vision or are color blind might find this difficult in case text is mixed with the background. In order to satisfy the criterion of accessibility, the normal text and the larger text should have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 and 3:1 respectively.
As an example, grey writing on a white background may appear trendy but it can hardly be read by certain visitors. Such tools as contrast checkers may assist you with the checking of your color palette.
4. Screen Reader Compatibility
JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver are screen readers that transform text and interface features into speech or braille. Websites ought to have semantic HTML and ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) labels, which are compatible.
Screen readers are more effective with proper headings, descriptive link text and labeled form fields. An example is that a link must state the name of the Annual Report that it is downloading as opposed to Click Here.
Technical compliance is however just one of the solutions. Nothing can substitute the real-world accessibility user testing in better UX where disabled individuals use your site to identify the practical obstacles that automated testing may overlook. Coding best practices and user testing can make sure that your site is truly usable and not some technically correct site.
5. Captions and Transcripts for Media
Videos and audio information must never be without captions and transcripts. The captions are useful to the deaf or hard of hearing, whereas transcripts give an alternative consumption mechanism.
In addition to being accessible, captions may also enhance engagement. There are numerous users who watch the videos without any sound in the social places and captions guarantee them that they can do so without any problems.
6. Accessible Forms
One of the main areas of frustration among the disabled users is the form. A form that is accessible must contain:
There are clear and observable labels of each field.
Understandable guidelines and error messages.
Keyboard navigation tab order Logical keyboard navigation.
Combining similar fields with fieldset and legend.
In case a field is mandatory, it should be marked and where mistakes happen, suggestions should be offered. This will render the process not very frustrating to all users.
However, you should not fix them only once, they have to be accessible when your site develops. Accessibility training of your content and development teams is required there. Accessibility can be an inherent process and not a fallacy when your staff understands how to build and sustain accessible forms, headings and media early in the design of the site.
7. Resizable Text and Zoom Options
There are some users who require bigger texts to read. The websites must enable the text to be resized to 200 percent without compromising the layout or functionality of the websites. Responsive design assists in making sure that no content is cut off or that the elements do not overlap during the zooming.
The inclusion of integrated accessibility tools, e.g. font size adjustment buttons, provides the users with more control over the experience.
8. Logical Heading Structure
Headings are not only a visual matter, but also provide structure to what you are writing. The process of screen readers depends on the correct hierarchy (H1 title, H2 main section, H3 subsubsections) that will give the user the idea of the flow of the page.
For example:
H1: 10 Critical Accessibility Features.
H2: Keyboard Navigation
H3: Example Use Case
A rational heading system enhances usability and SEO, and it makes your content easier to read.
9. Skip Navigation Links
Long navigation menus are provided at the top of many websites. To the keyboard users, going through the menu items on each page is laborious. It has a Skip to Content link that will enable them to get straight to the main content and save time and effort.
It might be a minor detail but it will make life much easier to those who use assistive technology.
10. Responsive and Mobile Accessibility
Nowadays, responsive design is not an option because mobile devices comprise most of the web traffic. The sites should be made accessible to various screen sizes and orientations without being rendered ineffective.
These consist in making sure that the buttons are big enough to tap, the forms need to be functional on mobile, and the content should flow without having to scroll horizontally. Accessibility combined with mobile responsiveness means that your site is accessible to all people at all places.
Why Accessibility Matters
It is not only about a compliance box to add these web accessibility features. The ease of access enhances experience among users. Clarity, legibility, and customizable accessibility contribute to the ease of use by all users and not only by the people with disabilities.
If you’re looking for more practical steps, check out our detailed guide on ways to make your website more accessible
As a business factor, accessibility:
Expands your audience reach
Reduces legal risks
Improves SEO rankings
Enhances brand reputation
In a way that all people can use your site, you have an otherwise inclusive online presence.
Final Thoughts
It is a process and not a single solution. With these 10 critical accessibility characteristics that a site must have, you will make your online presence more open, friendly, and in accordance with international requirements.
Inclusive Web understands the meaning of accessibility in businesses and helps them to become accessible by:
Complete auditing of the web sites.
Constant compliance monitoring.
People with disabilities User testing.
Training of a team to make it long term.
Have Questions?
We Are Inclusive Web
We work with our clients to simplify digital accessibility to ensure your web and digital applications are ADA compliant and accessible to all your users. If you’d like to talk about your digital accessibility, you can email us at matthew@inclusiveweb.co, leave us a note here, or schedule a call here to discuss. Let’s make the web inclusive to all!