Global Accessibility Awareness Day

What are the Benefits of Web Accessibility?

20% of people in the UK have some kind of disability. Many sites hold information that no other sites contain- especially government body sites (Town or Parish Councils for example,) so this information needs to be displayed clearly & concisely. Access to information, including the web, is now a human right. The currenly expected standard of accessibility is the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA.

As well as the sites being accessible for more users, accessible websites tend to work better for everyone, as they are often faster, easier to navigate, better formatted, and appear higher in search engine rankings.

• Inclusivity:
  As more and more things move to only be accessible online- web accessibility guidelines ensure that everyone, regardless of their physical, sensory, or cognitive abilities, can access and use the web. This promotes inclusivity and ensures that people with disabilities are not excluded from important information, services, and opportunities that are available online.
• Legal Compliance:
  More and more countries are making Web Accessibility a legal requirement- and some organisations have already set guidelines that require websites and digital content to be accessible to people with disabilities. For example- Any branch of government is required to attain certain accessibility levels (See: gov.uk website guidelines.)
• Business Benefits:
  Having an easy to use and accessible website can benefit a business in a range of ways, such as improving SEO, increasing the website's usability, and therefore expanding the website's audience. It can also be great for a companies reputation!
• Responsibility:
  Making sure that websites are accessible is just the right thing to do! By making websites accessible, we're making sure that people with disabilities can access the same information and services as everyone else. It's our responsibility to make sure that nobody is left feeling excluded, or without the information they need, and we can do that by ensuring our websites are accessible.

What causes someone to need Accessibility Features?

• Visual Impairments:
  Blindness, low vision, and colour blindness often pose a barrier to web users, features to help include high contrast mode, screen readers, text-to-speech software, and alternatives to visual content like audio descriptions.
• Auditory Impairments:
  Hearing Impairments, such as deafness or hearing loss, can create difficulties for some web users. To combat this, features such as captions and subtitles, sign language interpretation, and audio amplification can be helpful.
• Physical Disabilities:
  The use of a keyboard and mouse can be difficult for people with barriers related to physical mobility, such as limited dexterity or range of motion. To help with this, we can implement features such as the ability to navigate a site using just a keyboard, voice commands, and adaptive devices like joysticks or touchscreens.
• Cognitive Disabilities: Navigating and understanding content can be difficult for people with cognitive disabilities, such as dyslexia or ADHD, therefore we may need to use simplified language, clear navigation, and other features to help them process information.
• Temporary Disabilities: People with temporary disabilities, such as a broken arm or temporary vision loss, may need accessibility features to continue using technology until their impairment improves.

Not all of these features need to be added and managed by the site owner, many features are built into the browser, or are already set up by the users- but it is important to make out sites as clear as possible for these accessibility features. 

An example of this is clearly labelling images- most website builders include accessibility features like Alt-text, so all you need to do it fill it in! (See: What is Alt-Text and Why Should I Use It?)

How is Web Accessibility Measured?

The level of accessibility is measured against the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG.)

WCAG 2.1 has three different levels;

• A- The lowest, minimum level of accessibility to reach.
• AA- Is more accessible, some barriers still exist for some groups of users, but most features should work with Assistive Technology. Level AA is often the required level of accessibility- this is the level of accessibility that WJPS work too when creating WCS sites. 
• AAA- Is the most accessible level. Some level AAA criteria cannot be applied everywhere, so level AAA is generally not a requirement, more-so something to aim for.

What are some Common Accessibility Mistakes?

Common accessibility mistakes include content not displaying correctly on a mobile phone, can not be navigated using a keyboard, poor colour contrast, not including alt text on images, and being poorly structured so screen readers struggle to read the content. 

Many people use Mobile Phones to access websites, so having a site that is responsive to different screen sizes is important. Many web providers will use responsive software, so this is not something that the user needs to worry about unless they are building their own site from scratch.

S.C.U.L.P.T

SCULPT is am acronym to help you understand Accessibility, and a thinking point when you are writing or creating new content.

• Structure - (Is the structure of the content suitable, are you using the correct headings and formats for displaying data).
• Colour – Use strong colour contrast between any text and background colours.
• Use of Images – Use alternative text to describe the image. Imagine how you would explain it to someone.
• Links – What does it link to? Describe your link. Never use click here.
• Plain English – Use clear, uncomplicated language with no jargon.
• Table Structure – Use simple tables without merged or split cells.

How WJPS can help you

We are currently working on offering our clients WCS consultancy, where we will not only streamline, organise and style your site, but we will bring it up to at least WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and within our support package, will check your sites accessibility every 6 months to keep it up to date. 

For more in-depth information on this topic, please see National Association of Local Councils Website Accessibility and Publishing Guidelines. 

If you would like to speak to us about Web Accessibility- email support@wjps.co.uk or call Bee on 01677 392006

Published: 19/05/2023 Published by: WJPS

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