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How to Make Your Website More Accessible

If you’re building a website, you need to take website accessibility into account. We all benefit when everyone can access what we put online. 

In this blog post, we’re going to show you how to make your website more accessible—so everyone can use it.

Make text readable.

When it comes to website accessibility, making sure that text is readable is vital. If a visitor has difficulty reading the text on your site, they won’t be able to navigate or understand what you’re trying to say.

To make sure people can read your text, you need to keep the following pointers in mind:

• Use a font type and size that’s easy to read at different screen resolutions.
• Use a colour scheme that makes sense and is easy to see with different viewing conditions. For example, certain colour schemes may require low-vision users to increase screen brightness.
• Avoid using too many fonts. This may cause confusion for users with dyslexia or other learning difficulties.

Give users more than one way to do something.

It’s important to offer a variety of ways for your users to interact with your website, so they can choose whichever method works best for them. For example, if you have an online store, consider offering customers several ways to buy a product. 

These options may include:

• A single checkout button that allows them to purchase one item at a time (e.g., “Buy Now”)
• A shopping cart where they can add multiple items at once if they want (e.g., “Checkout”)
• An option that lets them view their cart and edit their selections before checking out (e.g., “My Cart”)

Make sure users can use their keyboards.

Users will not always be able to use a mouse. You should make sure you have a keyboard shortcut for every action on your site. For example, if a user clicks on a link and it opens the new page in another tab, they should still be able to get back to the old page by pressing Ctrl + Shift + T. 

For each thing you want users to do on your site, make sure there is an associated keyboard shortcut available. By doing this, people who don’t have access to a mouse can still accomplish those actions.

Let users know when they enter an error state.

It’s important to let users know when they enter an error state and provide them with clear instructions for fixing it.

• Error messages should be clear and concise. Your error messages should also be understandable by people whose first language is not English, so you’ll want to make sure your errors do not rely on slang words that might not translate well into other languages (e.g., “oops,” “crash,” etc.).
• Make sure the error message doesn’t leave too much up for interpretation. If someone can’t figure out what went wrong because of a poorly written message, then they’re going to have trouble fixing it as well.

Make videos accessible to people with disabilities.

Making your video content accessible is a great way to make sure that everyone can enjoy it.

• You should also consider adding subtitles or closed captions to videos on your website — not just for people with hearing impairments but also for people who are learning English as a second language or who simply don’t understand what’s being said in the video. This will help make your content more accessible to all visitors while making it easier for them to find what they need by searching text instead of sound waves.
• Use transcripts for long videos and audio files. Transcripts are useful for people who aren’t able to watch the entire clip because they have trouble keeping up with fast speakers or can’t see what’s happening in the video at all. They’re also useful when someone wants to share part of your content but not all of it.
• Speak clearly and loudly if you do podcasts alone, so that listeners with hearing loss won’t miss out on anything important. You may also consider working with an editor who has experience editing audio material for people who are hard of hearing. Many editors specialise in this sort of work because they know how important proper pronunciation is when transcribing speech into text form.

The more people you include, the better everyone’s experience will be.

There’s no denying that accessibility is good for business. It’s also critical for a sustainable future and will help you create a better experience for your customers. 

But accessibility is really about being inclusive and fair to everyone—it’s not just good business practice; it’s the right thing to do!

Conclusion

We hope this guide has helped you understand how to make your site more accessible.

Cornerstone Digital is a WordPress development company in Sydney. We’d be glad to talk to you about making your website more accessible. Call us on (02) 8211 0668 or email us at info@cornerstone-digital.com.au.

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Darlyn Herradura

A self-professed book and digital marketing nerd, Darlyn Herradura focuses on building trust between customers and businesses with the written word. She understands that creating valuable content is the best way to get found online and happily spends her time doing that.