Web Design for Accessibility
You're brilliant. Let's make sure that everyone can find that out.
Nov 12, 2015
What is design for accessibility?
Design for accessibility is, simply, designing your website so that anyone, regardless of the tool they use to access the internet or any differing abilities they may have, can access the information you're trying to present.
Why should I go to the trouble to do this?
Well, for one thing, getting information to as many people as possible is kind of the whole point of the web. Beyond that, it's just the right thing to do; the web is the greatest database of knowledge and one of the greatest communication devices in the world, and everyone should be able to use it. If that's still not reason enough, if you're running a commerce site, and yours is accessible while your competitors' sites aren't, well, guess who will be getting the money from the people who can use a little accommodation?
Ok, then. How do I do it?
The basic answer is this: make sure all your information is clearly communicated in more than one way. We'll go into more detail below, but a good start is that: make sure all of your visual information is summarized verbally (eg: alt text on images, written summaries of graphics), and that all of your audio/video information is presented visually (eg: transcripts for audio, closed-captioning for video).
- Use alt text for images
- Use text summaries for graphics
- Keep high contrast between content and background
- Convey meaning through more than color changes
- Make sure that the site remains readable under magnification
- Use good semantic headings and otherwise provide good information for screen readers
- Provide transcripts for audio files
- Provide closed-captioning for videos
- Avoid flickering or flashing graphical elements or videos
- Make sure that the entirety of your site is usable with only a keyboard, for those who don't/cannot use a mouse
- Use large links, and make them stationary
- Make the site tolerant of errors - use confirm dialogues for important actions
Where can I get more information about accessible design?
Glad you asked! Most of the information used in the gathering of information for this article came from these resources:
I hope that you have found this article informative, and that you will consider using the above guidelines when designing your websites.