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Understanding Web Accessibility

Luke Ritchie Luke Ritchie

Understanding Web Accessibility

Web accessibility is essential for building an inclusive, forward-thinking brand in today's digital world. By fostering a more inclusive online environment, you enhance the user experience, expand your reach, and drive loyalty — all while ensuring compliance with legal requirements. Let's explore the basics of web accessibility: why it matters, who it impacts, the business benefits, legal considerations, and more.

What is web accessibility?

Web accessibility is a broad term that describes transforming websites and web-based applications to ensure they're accessible to people with disabilities. Just as a business's physical storefront must be accessible to all, businesses are responsible for ensuring their digital storefronts are equally inclusive. Achieving accessibility involves a remediation process to address any areas of inaccessibility within these digital environments.

Why is web accessibility important?

According to the CDC, up to one in four (27%) American adults have some type of disability that impacts their internet use. For businesses, this means providing an inclusive digital environment that's compatible with any assistive technology.

In addition to being a legal requirement (more on this later), prioritizing accessibility is good business. Here are six areas where digital accessibility can have a measurable impact (based on a 2023 survey):

  1. User experience
  2. Customer satisfaction
  3. Brand reputation
  4. Customer acquisition
  5. Customer retention
  6. Revenue

Other studies have shown that web accessibility can also boost SEO rankings and organic traffic. One SEMRUSH study found that 73% of websites that became accessible saw growth in organic traffic, with an average increase of 12%.

Conversely, an inaccessible website can be, at best, a source of frustration and, at worst, completely unusable for certain visitors.

Web accessibility compliance explained

WCAG

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) created the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the global standard for web accessibility and the cited recommendation in most legislation.

ADA

In 2018, the DOJ confirmed that websites are considered place of public accommodation and must comply with the American's with Disabilities Act (ADA). In 2022, the DOJ reiterated this position and recommended the WCAG as the best practice. 

Since then, lawsuits and demand letters have seen a steady rise, with many other countries implementing their own legislation as awareness and recognition grows. Examples include:

Navigating specific compliance requirements can be tricky, but the more important thing to keep in mind is that web accessibility helps everyone.

How to ensure your website is accessible

Since you've made it this far, you're aware that web accessibility is not just a legal necessity, but also imperative to business and brand initiatives.

But what's the most effective way to approach an accessibility project? Which standards are required, and what tools are needed to achieve this goal?

When it comes to making your website accessible, here are a few of the most critical action items to address:

  • Allow for keyboard-only navigation
  • Ensure full compatibility with assistive technology like screen readers
  • Use highly contrasting colors
  • Provide alt text for meaningful images
  • Use proper heading structures
  • Include captions and transcripts for videos
  • Design accessible forms
  • Maintain responsive and flexible design
  • Avoid using color as the only means of conveying information
  • Use descriptive URLs and link text
  • Ensure consistent navigation
  • Allow for content to be increased and decreased in size
  • Try to avoid auto-replaying media
  • Use simple and clear language
  • Include an accessibility statement
  • Ensure your website does not feature content that can induce seizures
  • Make sure your online documents are accessible, as well
  • Regularly update and maintain accessibility features

To help make this efficient and affordable for our clients, Abstract has announced its partnership with accessiBe, the market leader in web accessibility offerings. This collaboration allows us to equip our clients with a cutting-edge ecosystem of solutions [partner portal] that empower compliance and usability for all users. This initiative highlights Abstract's continued efforts toward making IT simple, both for our clients as well as their end users.

If you're interested in learning more or want to bring accessibility to your website, please feel free to contact the Abstract team!

Curious if your site meets current standards? Try our free accessibility audit tool right now!

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