Making Your Site Inclusive by Design: Website Accessibility

Maybe you have a physical location or maybe you don’t. Let’s pretend that you do… Would you willingly close the door of your shop, office or restaurant to 15% of your customers? I would guess your answer is likely no. But that’s exactly what you’re doing with your website if you’re not taking steps to improve your site’s accessibility.

We believe that every website – whether it’s for a business, nonprofit organization, or government entity – should be accessible to all. It’s not just the right thing to do. In many cases, it’s also a legal obligation.

Web accessibility is about creating websites that everyone can use, including individuals with disabilities. It means designing and developing digital spaces in ways that allow people with visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments to easily perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the content.

Ensuring your website is accessible goes beyond meeting general best practices—it’s a commitment to inclusivity and usability that benefits everyone, including you. How? Accessible websites tend to have better search engine rankings, broader audience reach, and increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

When it comes to website accessibility, there’s a legal angle that’s important to understand—especially if you want to avoid any potential pitfalls while serving everyone better. In the US, the cornerstone is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Originally passed in 1990, the ADA was designed to ensure equal access to public spaces for people with disabilities. While the ADA was originally written for physical spaces, it has increasingly been applied to websites, especially for businesses and organizations that serve the public.

The ADA itself doesn’t provide a detailed checklist for making your site accessible. So instead, the industry has embraced the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 as the go-to blueprint. WCAG lays out exactly how a website should look and function to be truly accessible.

WCAG is the most widely used standard for improving accessibility and is often referenced when evaluating whether a website is accessible.

There are several options you can choose in order to make sure your site is accessible and ADA-compliant:

The most reliable way to improve accessibility is to identify issues on your site and fix them at the source—in the theme/templates, page structure, and content. Automated tools can help identify common issues, but manual testing and remediation are still essential.

If your website is built on WordPress, there are dedicated accessibility plugins available. These plugins help address common issues without requiring deep technical expertise, streamlining the path to accessibility.

• Seamless Integration: Especially for platforms like WordPress, plugins can be added directly into your CMS, streamlining the process.
• Cost-Effective: Many accessibility plugins are free or low-cost, offering an affordable solution for improving compliance.
• User-Friendly: They often feature simple interfaces, allowing non-technical users to manage and update accessibility features easily.

• Limited Scope: While plugins handle common accessibility issues, they might not address all the unique challenges of your specific website design.
• Compatibility Issues: There’s a risk of conflicts with other plugins or custom code, which can lead to unexpected functionality issues.
• Maintenance Overhead: Plugins require regular updates to remain effective and secure, which can add to the workload if not managed properly.

For a more in-depth approach, you can hire accessibility consultants or agencies to perform detailed audits. This method is ideal for identifying and fixing nuanced or complex accessibility challenges that automated tools might miss.

• Thorough and Customized: Experts conduct detailed reviews, catching nuanced issues that automated tools might miss.
• Tailored Recommendations: Auditors provide specific, actionable guidance based on your website’s unique design and content.
• Real-World Insights: Often incorporating user testing with individuals with disabilities, manual audits offer practical, real-life feedback to further enhance accessibility.

• Time-Consuming: A comprehensive manual audit can be a lengthy process, delaying the implementation of accessibility improvements.
• Higher Costs: Hiring accessibility experts or consultants can be more expensive than automated solutions, particularly for smaller websites.
• Subjectivity: Even experienced auditors might have varying opinions on certain issues, and manual reviews may need to be repeated periodically as your site evolves.

At the end of the day, web accessibility isn’t just about compliance – it’s about making sure your website is a welcoming space for everyone. Whether you start with accessibility testing tools, a WordPress-focused remediation plan, or a full manual audit, the key is to take action and improve accessibility over time.

Ready to improve your website’s accessibility? Contact us to discuss your options and the next best steps for your site.!