Introduction

The Internet is a vast and ever-growing resource of information and services. However, for people with disabilities, accessing this information and these services can be difficult or impossible if websites are not designed with accessibility in mind. Here, I will discuss How to Make Your Website More Accessible.

According to the World Health Organization, there are over 1 billion people with disabilities in the world, and this number is expected to grow. This means that a significant portion of the population is at risk of being excluded from the benefits of the Internet if websites are not accessible.

There are many types of disabilities, and each type can affect how a person interacts with the Internet. For example, people with visual impairments may have difficulty reading text on a website, while people with motor impairments may have difficulty using a mouse or keyboard.

Key Points to Make Your Website More Accessible

There are several things that website owners and designers can do to make their websites more accessible to people with disabilities. These include:

• Using clear and concise language
• Providing alternative text for images
• Using keyboard navigation
• Making sure that all content is accessible to screen readers
• Providing transcripts for videos and audio recordings

By following these guidelines, website owners and designers can create websites accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities.

Benefits of Having an Accessible Website

• Social inclusion: Everyone deserves equal access to information and services, regardless of their abilities. By making your website accessible, you are helping to promote social inclusion and create a more inclusive society.
• Legal compliance: In many jurisdictions, some laws and regulations require websites to be accessible to people with disabilities. By making your website accessible, you ensure you comply with the law.
• Wider audience: By making your website accessible, you are opening up your business or organization to a broader audience. This can lead to increased sales, traffic, and engagement.
• Improved SEO: Google and other search engines give preference to websites that are accessible. This means that an accessible website is more likely to rank higher in search results, which can lead to more traffic and visitors.

How to Make Your Website More Accessible

There are several things you can do to make your website more accessible to people with disabilities. Here are a few tips:

• Use clear and concise language. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that people may not understand.
• Provide alternative text for images. The alternative text briefly describes an image that screen readers can read. This allows people who cannot see the image to understand it.
• Use keyboard navigation. Ensure that all of your website’s elements can be navigated using the keyboard. This is important for people who cannot use a mouse.
• Make sure that all content is accessible to screen readers. Screen readers are software programs that read text aloud to visually impaired people. Make sure that all of the content on your website is formatted in a way that screen readers can read.
• Provide transcripts for videos and audio recordings. This allows people who are deaf or hard of hearing to access the content of your videos and audio recordings.

Accessibility Tools for Website Improvements

There are several tools available to help website owners improve the accessibility of their sites. One such tool is accessiBe. I installed accessiBe on my website and love the price and ease of use. accessiBe is a market leader in web accessibility solutions and technologies. Its mission is to develop technological solutions to help businesses, regardless of size, resources, developers, and budget, do their best to take on web accessibility.

Another tool is the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) program. They provide a list of techniques and tools people with disabilities use to interact with the web, such as web browser settings, text-to-speech, voice recognition, and many more.

Website owners can also use WordPress accessibility plugins to catch significant issues and ensure their code is accessible. They can also use captions for images, GIFs, and videos, create their site keyboard navigable, choose accessible colors and fonts, and ensure their content is accessible.

In conclusion, website owners have several options to improve the accessibility of their sites. They can use tools like accessiBe, WAI, and WordPress accessibility plugins to make their sites more accessible to people with disabilities. Doing so can increase their potential customer size and help create a more inclusive society.

Conclusion

Making your website accessible to people with disabilities is essential for several reasons. It is the right thing to do; it can help you comply with the law, reach a wider audience, and improve your SEO.

There are several things you can do to make your website more accessible. By following the tips above, you can create a website that is inclusive and welcoming to everyone.

About Mike Greco MBA

Mike Greco MBA is a business, finance, and technology website.

Learn more about site founder Mike Greco and his recent eBook – The Debt Free Journey.

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