Accessible website: Step by step towards user friendliness

In the digital era, a website is more than just a storefront for your business. It is an interactive space that brings together people from different walks of life.

Website accessibility compliance is subject to various obligations to ensure that people with different abilities and impairments have equal access to digital content.

One important obligation is compliance with national and international laws and guidelines. Many countries have specific laws or regulations that govern website accessibility, such as the German Disability Equality Act (BGG) or the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Creating an accessible website requires both technical know-how and an awareness of the different needs of users.

What is an accessible website anyway?

These requirements are internationally defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in the "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines" (WCAG) in 3 different conformance levels A, AA, AAA.

Web designers and developers should consider the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which provide internationally recognized guidelines for website design.

These guidelines provide detailed information and recommendations on how to improve the accessibility of a website.

Accessible web design: Good for usability and good for SEO

Digital accessibility means that people with different abilities and impairments can easily access your website.

This includes people with visual or hearing impairments, motor impairments, cognitive impairments, and more.

By making your website accessible, you show your commitment to inclusion and allow everyone to enjoy your content and benefit from what you have to offer.

In addition, accessibility also impacts your SEO ranking. Search engines like Google prefer websites that offer a good user experience, including accessibility for all users.

By making your website accessible, you improve the user experience and thus increase the likelihood that your website will rank better in search results.

Checklist for an accessible website

Designing an accessible website is essential to ensure that all visitors can easily access your content. It's about breaking down barriers and creating an inclusive online environment.

In the following checklist, you will find important measures to make your website accessible to ensure that it is accessible to everyone.

Color contrasts and font size

Make sure your website uses fonts that are easy to read and that the contrast between text and background is sufficient.

Avoid font sizes that are too small and choose color combinations that are easy for people with visual impairments to see.

Alternative text for images

Describe images using alternative text (alt tags) so that people with visual impairments can understand what is shown in the images.

This also helps search engines better understand and index your website content.

Transcriptions and subtitles

Provide transcripts for audio and video files to help people with hearing impairments access your content.

Also add subtitles to make the information accessible to hearing-impaired visitors.

Keyboard accessibility

Make sure your website is fully keyboard accessible. Some users may have difficulty using mouse pointers or touchscreens and prefer to navigate using the keyboard.

Clear and intuitive keyboard navigation greatly improves the user experience.

Simple language and structure

Use clear and understandable language to make your content accessible to people with cognitive impairments.

Structure your website with headings, paragraphs, and lists to improve readability and clarity.

Avoid complex sentence structures and jargon to make your information easy to understand.

Use ARIA tags

ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) tags allow you to mark interactive elements on your website to make them accessible to screen readers.

By using ARIA tags, you can ensure that visitors with visual impairments can take advantage of the full functionality of your website.

Test your website

Conduct regular accessibility testing to ensure your website is up to standards.

There are a variety of tools and resources that can help you check the accessibility of your website.

Wave Evaluation Tool

The WAVE tool, developed by the WebAIM organization, is a popular and easily accessible accessibility review tool. It analyzes web pages for potential barriers and provides visual and code-based guidance to improve accessibility.

The tool highlights barriers such as lack of alternative text for images, lack of heading structure, or color contrast issues, and indicates possible solutions.

Web Developer - Chrome Extension 

Web Developer Toolbar is an extension for various web browsers, such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

Although it is not specifically designed for accessibility checking, it still provides useful features for accessibility evaluation. It allows disabling CSS and images to check if the website is still understandable and navigable.

It also provides a function to check the color contrast and hide background images to make the text more readable.

Lighthouse 

Lighthouse is integrated into the developer tools of various web browsers, such as Google Chrome, and can be used to analyze web pages.

It performs automated tests and evaluates the accessibility of the page, based on the WCAG guidelines. It checks various aspects such as the contrast of text and background colors, the correct use of headings, the accessibility of forms and the presence of alternative text for images.

Identify possible problems and fix them to ensure that your website is accessible to all visitors.

Taking advantage of the benefits of accessibility

An accessible website not only gives you the opportunity to expand your audience and improve your SEO ranking, but it also allows you to build a positive image for your business.

By committing to accessibility, you show that you respect everyone's needs and want to provide them with equal opportunities.

In addition, accessible websites can also lead to higher conversion rates. By providing a user-friendly and accessible website, you increase your visitors' confidence and encourage them to contact you, buy your products or use your services.

Therefore, invest the time and resources to make your website accessible. Consult experts and use available tools to ensure your website meets current standards.

By creating an inclusive online environment, you will not only expand the reach of your website, but also help make the internet accessible to all.

Conclusion

By creating an accessible website, you are taking a step towards an inclusive and accessible digital landscape.

From 2025, the EU Directive will come into force across Europe, this will affect all companies offering digital products and services in the future.

Specialized agencies can help you implement website accessibility, they have expertise and experience to ensure websites comply with current standards and guidelines.

By promoting accessible websites, we create an equitable and inclusive online world for all.