Did you know prioritizing SEO and accessibility together can lead to a better-performing website? Many elements that improve a site’s accessibility—like alternative text for images and clear site navigation—also boost rankings. That said, the reverse is also true. Accessibility errors and poorly implemented SEO are also things that can make your website harder for users, […]
Links are arguably the most important part of the web. Without links, we couldn’t navigate a website and access content properly. This makes it especially important to consider the accessibility of links and buttons when building a website. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) include multiple requirements regarding link accessibility, both explicitly and indirectly. There […]
Design patterns play a key role in user experience (UX) design. Website layouts that use consistent, standard elements from page to page help users find the information they need more quickly, which helps increase engagement and overall satisfaction.
However, when it comes to accessible UX design you can’t always rely on popular design patterns, as many of them pose accessibility challenges. When determining which components and patterns to use on your website, don’t reuse something just because it’s common across the websites you visit—consider if it truly meets the needs of all users.
To help you get started in evaluating accessibility in UX design, let’s take a look at some common design patterns to be cautious of when designing an accessible website.
Automated tools play an important role in web accessibility testing. When used properly, they can help expedite the accessibility testing process and streamline accessible web development overall.
However, automated testing tools fall short of fully evaluating all of the criteria set by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Many of these accessibility requirements need more thoughtful consideration and context, which makes them impossible to identify by automation alone. In these cases, manual assessment and interpretation are necessary.
Conversations around accessibility for websites have been moving to the forefront of the web development industry in recent years. Despite this shift, websites with accessibility errors seem to still be the norm. In fact, a recent evaluation of the top one million websites found that 96% of home pages had accessibility errors.
Statistics like that highlight an unfortunate issue that you may have personally experienced if you’ve spent time working with web accessibility—it can be challenging to get people committed to web accessibility.
There are a number of reasons why businesses might be hesitant to go all in on accessibility, such as lack of knowledge, financial concerns, or limited resources. However, the best way to build a case for accessibility is to be armed with the facts.
