Accessibility is no longer optional for websites—it’s a necessity. Ensuring your website is accessible to people with visual impairments isn’t just good ethics; it’s also smart business, as it broadens your reach and enhances your user experience. Here’s a practical guide to making your website more accessible and inclusive, along with a helpful tool to ensure you’re on the right track.
Why Website Accessibility Matters
Visual impairments affect millions of people worldwide, including those who are blind, have low vision, or experience colour blindness. A website optimised for accessibility helps users navigate, understand, and interact with your content, regardless of their abilities.
Accessible websites also align with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), ensuring compliance with legal requirements in many countries. Plus, accessibility improvements often lead to better usability for all users.
Key Ways to Improve Website Accessibility
- Using Sufficient Colour Contrast Visual impairments, including Colour blindness and low vision, can make it difficult to distinguish between similar Colours. Ensure that the contrast ratio between text and background meets WCAG standards. A handy tool for checking your Colours is the WebAIM Contrast Checker. Aim for:
- A contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for standard text.
- A ratio of 3:1 for larger text (18pt or 14pt bold).
- Another tool is Page Speed Insights, check your website here, you can see the accessibility rating and what to do about it. If you're stuck what to do here, let us know, we can help
- Provide Text Alternatives for Images
- Use alt text to describe images, ensuring screen readers can convey the information to visually impaired users.
- Be specific and concise. For instance, instead of “image of dog,” use “Golden retriever playing fetch in a park.”
- Ensure Keyboard Navigation Many visually impaired users rely on keyboards instead of a mouse. Ensure your website:
- Can be navigated using the Tab key.
- Highlights focused elements clearly.
- Use Accessible Fonts and Sizes
- Choose legible fonts with clear letter shapes.
- Avoid overly decorative fonts.
- Use a minimum font size of 16px for body text.
- Implement ARIA Landmarks Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) landmarks help screen readers and assistive technologies understand your page structure. Use landmarks like <header>, <main>, and <footer> to organise content effectively.
- Offer Resizable Text Ensure users can resize text without breaking your website layout. Test your site at 200% zoom to ensure readability and functionality remain intact.
- Design Accessible Forms
- Label form fields clearly with descriptive text.
- Use placeholders as supplementary information, not as the primary label.
- Include error messages that explain the issue and how to fix it.
- Provide Descriptive Links Screen readers often read out links sequentially. Avoid generic phrases like “click here” or “learn more.” Instead, use descriptive text such as “Download our accessibility guide.”
- Test Your Website with Assistive Technologies Tools like screen readers (e.g., NVDA, JAWS) and browser extensions for accessibility testing (e.g., WAVE) can help identify accessibility barriers.
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Bonus Tips: Building an Accessible Colour Scheme
Using the WebAIM Contrast Checker is a simple yet powerful step in crafting an accessible Colour scheme:
- Enter your foreground and background Colours into the tool.
- Adjust Colours to meet the contrast ratio standards for WCAG AA or AAA compliance.
- Test your design in real-world conditions, such as low light or grayscale settings, to simulate Colour blindness.
Improving website accessibility for people with visual impairments is a win-win.
It ensures inclusivity, enhances usability, and improves compliance with accessibility laws. By following these guidelines and utilising tools like the WebAIM Contrast Checker, you can create a website that’s welcoming to everyone.
Take the first step today—review your site, make necessary adjustments, and test your changes. Accessible design is good design.
If you’d like help making your website more accessible, contact us. We specialise in creating user-friendly, eco-friendly websites that work for everyone.
