Users with accessibility issues should not be treated as edge cases. Making sure your website is accessible to everybody and anybody is not an overly difficult task and will drastically improve the user experience of your website. Here are a few ways you can make your own website a little more accessible.
Check the contrast
Colour blindness affects 4.5% of the total population. Making sure the text on your website is easily readable can make a big difference to your visitors! Each website I design for Digital Noir must pass WCAG 2.0 AA readability standards, which basically means that the text stands out from the background enough that anybody could easily read it. Run your colours through the Colour Contrast Checker if you’re unsure about your website’s readability.
Content Consolidation
One of the biggest issues I face when designing a website is getting clear, concise content from a client. People tend to write A LOT about their business and products, this is understandable as they are trying to sell themselves but in reality, visitors just aren’t going to read it all. It is possible to tell your website visitors who you are, what you do and what you’re offering them in a few punchy sentences. The more text you add, the less impact it will have. Keep it short, concise and to the point!
Font Selection
There are some pretty wild typefaces out there that can help your website feel more unique or on-brand. These are great to use for page headings, menu items and sometimes even other snippets of text that you really want to stand out! For large bodies of text, a nice clean font is easier to read and can even help balance out the heading font.
Size does matter
It’s fun to experiment with font size when using typography as a graphic element, but when it comes to information that you want your visitors to actually read then we’d suggest making it as easy as possible for them. Depending on the font used, I won’t drop body text below 14px on desktop and around 16px on mobile. It’s important to remember that just because you can easily read it, doesn’t mean everybody else can.
Alternative image text
Not everybody can see images and video in the same way. It’s best to describe the contents or function of an image or icon by using Alt-text. This ensures that an equivalent user experience is offered to those who are visually impaired. Alt-text can usually be added to images pretty easily and the keywords used can also help boost SEO!
Page Structure
There are many programs that help users navigate the web by reading content out to them. Infact, most mobile devices have this feature built-in. Making sure your web pages are coded with proper header tags helps this software relay content to users who cannot read it themselves.
Mobile Optimisation
More people are accessing the web from mobile devices than ever before! A functional desktop website is no longer enough. Here at Digital Noir, we’re working to make clunky mobile websites a thing of the past. Small adjustments to spacing, font size and menu navigation can often make the world of difference on mobile sites.
Do you want to check the readability and performance of your website?
Check out our ‘Website CheckUp’ which analyses your website readability, but also it’s overall effectiveness and user experience. You’ll receive a detailed report and recommendations for fast improvements.
