PRODUCT NEWS
MAKING YOUR WEBSITE MORE ACCESSIBLE
Accessibility is the practice of making websites, as well as environments, as inclusive and attainable for as many people as possible, as Scott Baxter co-owner and technical director of First Internet explains…
A
ccessibility is a huge consideration when it comes to retail. Allocated parking spaces, push button doors, wide
entrances, large print signage, ramps and railings are commonplace in retail outlets across the UK now – and rightly so. According to the World Health
Organisation (WHO, 2023), there are an estimated 1.3 billion people - about 16% of the global population – who currently experience significant disability. Here in the UK there are around 15 million people registered disabled – representing 22% of the population. As WHO point out, barriers do not have to be physical. Their definition of a barrier to being able to enjoy experiences is any factor that, “through their absence or presence, limits functioning and creates disability. This includes services, systems and policies that are either non-existent, or that hinder the involvement of people with a health condition, in all areas of life”.
This is why it is vital that your 32 DIY WEEK JULY 2023
website is accessible. Consumer research and spending habits have completely changed in just a couple of decades, thanks to online and social trends. Technology is a central part of our lives and takes centre stage for most consumers – there are 60 million people in the UK shopping online. And yet research by The Drum just last year revealed that 65% of consumers with a disability have abandoned a purchase due to poor accessibility.
Accessibility is the practice of making websites, as well as environments, as inclusive and attainable for as many people as possible. It expands beyond physical barriers and includes technological barriers like visual impairments, sensory input, and more. For example, there are an estimated 300 million people worldwide with colour vision deficiency. One in 12 men are colourblind. Many websites are unusable or at least uncomfortable for these people – and DIY business owners might not even be aware. Digital products need to be designed and built for everyone to use and enjoy, so you need to be
clear on the guidelines and ensure your site adheres to them. Web Content
Accessibility
Guidelines (WCAG) offer three levels of conformance: A, AA and AAA. Most websites are AA, however, to truly compete, and most importantly serve your entire audience in the competitive DIY retail landscape, you need to have your website to AAA standard. Double A standards are covered under existing disability guidelines, but we are seeing more US sites meet Triple A targets and where America leads, the UK tends to follow. In this case, it’s the right thing for us all to be doing. For your website to be AAA,
there are 61 criteria to meet – contrast requirements are even stricter, checkmark icons need to be included, screen readers added to support visually impaired users, Siri informed of content so that voice search is easy. Some of the other things that really help and are included in this list are keyboard navigation: giving the user the option to navigate around the page easily using a tab while still following the page structure. Forms are also
key. Forms can often be stressful (whether paper or digital!), so keeping them as clear as possible is vital – while allowing the user to tab between boxes and make amends easily. Text size should obviously not be too small, but AAA suggests that websites should allow users to change the text size themselves if they need to zoom in to read something more easily. Similarly, fonts: allowing users to change to a font that works better for their vision is included in the list. The role of your website designer is to check that your site is at the right standard of accessibility from the outset.
It’s much easier
to do this at the build stage than retrospectively with an existing site: but sites can be scanned once created, to check their usability for all end users. The Triple A rating is not a legal standard in the UK yet, but new UK accessibility legislation is coming into force which could mean triple A sites become a requirement quite soon.
Apart from missing out on potential customers, it’s just the right thing to do. Inclusivity is not just a business decision, it’s a moral and ethical one.
First Internet is an award- winning full-service digital marketing agency based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester. Services include website design and development, UX design, SEO, social media management and content marketing. Other clients include Citation, Metro Rod,
PZ
Cussons and Peel Cubico. Visit
www.firstinternet.co.uk to find out more.
www.diyweek.net
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
