Accessibility is more than a trend; it's a pivotal shift in creating inclusive spaces.
When it comes to accessible websites, you might have found yourself navigating the complex maze of industry standards, wondering where to start. In this blog, we provide an introductory guide to web accessibility, explore why compliance with industry standards yields benefits for both your organisation and your users, and look at some of the tools that can help you along the way.
What is accessibility?
Accessibility is the practice of making information, activities and environments understandable, meaningful and usable for as many people as possible. This extends to people with a diverse range of hearing, movement, sight and cognitive abilities.
What is web accessibility?
In short, web accessibility means creating a website that works for everyone. This helps ensure that all people, not just those with disabilities, are able to perceive, understand, navigate and interact with websites and tools.
Web accessibility needs to be considered during the design and development stages of creating a new website. Otherwise, it may become an afterthought that is not properly executed. It's also an ongoing process that requires periodic checks as your website evolves and guidelines change based on user needs.
“The power of web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.” - Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Published by the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provides recommendations for making Web content more accessible. This includes the four accessibility principles of:
- Perceivable information and user interface
- Operable user interface and navigation
- Understandable information and user interface
- Robust content and reliable interpretation
The latest version of the guidelines is WCAG 2.2. ALYKA is fully equipped to implement these guidelines.
Why it’s important
When websites are badly designed, they can create barriers that exclude people from using them and accessing information. They also make it difficult for users of all abilities to find the information they want online. The negative impact of this is twofold:
- Your website, which was likely a significant investment, isn’t effectively marketing or explaining the product(s) or service(s) it’s been designed to showcase.
- Your users can’t find the information they need on your website, so they’ll begin putting strain on your administrative resources by calling and sending emails instead.
An accessible website not only helps those with disabilities - it also provides the general population with a better user experience and can enhance a website’s SEO performance, driving more traffic to the site.
All of that is to say that an accessible website is a win-win for website users and business owners alike!
Tools to make your website more accessible
Monsido
Acting as a one-stop shop for all of your website optimisation and compliance needs, Monsido is a tool you can use to monitor everything from your website’s accessibility to its content quality, branding, SEO, data privacy, Core Web Vitals and more.
Designed to make your website accessible to all users, Monsido’s Web Accessibility Platform makes complying with WCAG standards a simple and structured process. It does this by:
- Scanning your mobile website for accessibility, thereby supporting you in delivering a mobile user experience that is both inclusive and optimised for all users.
- Performing automated audits and targeted corrections that allow you to easily access the accessibility of your website and make corrections as needed.
- Staying up to date with the latest accessibility legislation and enabling you to evaluate your website against a variety of legal requirements and standards.
- Keeping track of your historical accessibility compliance so that you can record your progress over time.
- Making it easy to assign any accessibility issues to the appropriate person in your team to streamline any fixes.
Silktide
From accessibility, content and SEO to analytics, user experience and data privacy, Silktide offers a full suite of tightly integrated tools that you can use to improve the overall quality of your website now and into the future.
Focusing on accessibility, Silktide includes:
- Automated accessibility testing that helps you quickly identify accessibility barriers on your website and plan how to overcome them by prioritising their urgency.
- Manual accessibility auditing against the highest accessibility standards with full remediation guidance, all performed by their team of experts.
- Accessibility experts on hand to provide training and resources to help you better understand accessibility values and requirements.
- Bespoke accessibility training courses designed and delivered by experts for non-experts to develop your understanding of accessibility.