Importance of Accessibility in Website Design
According to the CDC, 1 in 4 US adults (approximately 61 million) have a disability. Oftentimes, members of this group will encounter a website that is difficult or impossible to use. A website that lacks accessibility makes it that much harder for disabled adults to purchase products, sign up for services, newsletters, etc.
Aside from people with disabilities, web designs can also affect those with temporary impairments or those of an aging population. Collectively speaking, this population makes up about 20% of the population. This means that your business is potentially missing out on a large group of consumers.
While there are no mandatory laws for businesses to have accessible websites, ADA lawsuits are far from frivolous and businesses are still finding themselves sued over their lack of compliance (visit this page for examples of cases).
Modern Standards for Website Accessibility
Accessibility standards apply to both the physical world and digital world. Here are a few regulations and standards that you need to be aware of:
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 & Section 508
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibited the government from discrimination against those with disabilities. This act applies to all aspects of the federal government, including those that are fully or partially funded by the government (schools, museums, etc). A specific section of the Act, Section 508, refers to the accessibility standards of technology. This requires accessibility in “electronic and information technology developed, maintained, procured, or used by the Federal government.”
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
While the Rehabilitation Act aims at the government sector, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers the private sector. It was passed in 1990 and “prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government’ programs and services.” While this legislation was originally aimed at physical locations and businesses, today there is a consensus among the courts to apply this act to the web.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This is an international group of individuals that work together to develop standards for the web. Their guiding principle is “Web for all, Web on everything.” Their guidelines suggest that all websites should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. Some examples of these principles are
- Perceivable: Captions and/or sign language translations are available for audio and video
- Operable: Users are able to easily navigate through the site and see where they are.
- Understandable: Text on the site is readable and can guide users through any errors.
- Robust: The site works with current and future tools.
How do I know if my website is accessible?
Thankfully, there are tools available to allow us to test and see if our website and its content are accessible. W3C provides an initial check that you can perform yourself to find out how user-friendly your site is. From there they also provide a list of popular tools that will allow you to make the proper changes to your site and meet current standards.
At Firefly, we work with a tool called accessiBe that helps us adapt our website to the specific needs of the user. Check it out for yourself by clicking the icon in the bottom left corner.
Tips for Website Accessibility
Many of the best practices for accessibility align with modern web design principles such as responsiveness (how the website looks on different devices), user experience, use of color, and more. Here are a few examples of how you can make your website more accessible and user friendly:
About the Author: Laura Williams
