SpyreStudios

Web Design and Development Magazine

  • Design
  • Showcase
  • Inspirational
  • Tutorials
  • CSS
  • Resources
  • Tools
  • UX
  • More
    • Mobile
    • Usability
    • HTML5
    • Business
    • Freebies
    • Giveaway
    • About SpyreStudios
    • Advertise On SpyreStudios
    • Get In Touch With Us

How Does Accessibility Relate to Web Design?

September 7, 2020 by Sangalang Kristine

Inclusivity in Web Design

Web design should always be inclusive. For any beginner designer, do you factor in differently-abled users in your design considerations? There are actually different considerations when creating an accessible website as there are many forms of different abilities.

Those that are most affected include people with auditory, visual, and physical disabilities. Is an application or a website easy to navigate for people who have difficulty using their limbs, neck, and head? Is the website screen-reader friendly for those who are visually impaired? Do written guides like captions and visual pointers provide easier access for the hearing impaired? These are just some of the common design considerations.

Large accessible keyboard for the elderly

Image Source: Pixabay

However, there are other forms of disabilities that must be considered as well. There are cognitive, speech, and neurological impairments to consider as well. Does a person with a learning disability be able to understand what the website is coming across? Is the website friendly for people who have sensory sensitivities (sensitivity to bright colors or loud sounds)? Will the color contrasts, backgrounds, and design elements prevent stimulus to epilepsy or other seizure-related illnesses?

On top of this, there are situational and temporary impairments to consider as well. For instance, adjustments for visual impairments due to old age should also be considered. How about people with only mobile devices, is the website mobile friendly for these users? How about people living in rural areas with poor connectivity, is the website fast enough to load for them? The internet is a vast place and, as designers, guiding differently-abled people through it should be a core responsibility. It is actually not just in laying out a website, the overall development of a blog or page should also be affected.

What is an Accessible Website?

Accessible websites are those that provide the power of the internet into the hands of all users – abled or impaired. There are international standards used to create accessible websites, and these are known as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines or WCAG. This ensures that the internet is a safe place for all kinds of users no matter the gender, age, race, or ability. There are three levels of conformity – A, AA, and AAA. The first level is the most basic, with only standard requirements of accessibility. The final level, AAA, has satisfied high-volume accessibility. This means that it has satisfied requirements for older users, users of a different language, and more.

How to Make a Website Accessible?

The first thing to do when creating an accessibility-ready website is to always look at a page in their shoes. What could be a stumbling block on a website for any impaired person? Here are a few basic considerations when creating an “accessible” website:

Provide captions for videos

For accessibility, videos on any website should be provided captions. The great thing is that there are multiple free tools online that allow automatic caption-creation for videos. Adding captions for videos is beneficial not only for individuals with auditory difficulties but also for people who would prefer to watch videos without sound. Yes, depending on the situation, some people would prefer watching videos without sound. It may be inside a public commute, inside the library, while getting your kids to sleep, and the like. Overall, captions are always helpful for websites.

Maximizing web development tools like Alt Text

Ever wondered what the Alt Text is for? It is not to simply describe an image, its source, or whatnot. It is to provide a text description for an image for visually impaired users. This way, the user could get an idea in their minds what the image looks like through the descriptions. This text will be added in place of images for people who cannot ‘see’ the uploaded photo. On top of that, adding Alt Text for images on a website is always helpful for image SEO. Undescribed images cannot be “seen” by Google crawls but the descriptions could be used whenever an image search is in place.

Avoid over-designing and over-crowding the page

Overcrowding a page is never a good technique for web designers. It significantly affects the user experience and makes the website irritating to use. Always opt for a simple layout or template. Going for a clean web layout is helpful not only for differently-abled users. Ease of use is also available for all users. The webpage will also appear cleaner and more professional looking. It is also helpful to place important navigation tools in their respective locations like the search bar, contact button, and the like.

Allow for keyboard navigation

It is possible to use the keyboard for using the internet, or any device for that matter. Making sure that typical keyboard shortcuts for website navigation are important in ensuring great website user experience. To add to this, it is always great to find a way around dynamic content. These are websites where the elements are moving or have a parallax effect. These kinds of websites are difficult to navigate for people with disabilities. They are also difficult to design with keyboard navigation.

Also Read: Modular Web Design Advantages and Disadvantages

Filed Under: Accessibility, Design, Development Tagged With: accessibliity

Recent Posts

  • 31 Fresh Design Elements for Spring and Easter
  • 10 Templates for Music Concert Flyers
  • How to Build a Web Scraper Using Node.js
  • Best PHP Books, Courses and Tutorials in 2022
  • How to Get Your First Web Design Client

Archives

  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008

Categories

  • Accessibility
  • Android
  • Apps
  • Art
  • Article
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • Bootstrap
  • Business
  • CSS
  • Design
  • Development
  • Ecommerce
  • Fireworks
  • Flash
  • Freebies
  • Freelance
  • General
  • Giveaway
  • Graphic Design
  • HTML5
  • Icons
  • Illustrator
  • InDesign
  • Infographics
  • Inspirational
  • Interview
  • Jobs
  • jQuery
  • Learning
  • Logos
  • Matrix
  • Minimalism
  • Mobile
  • Motion Graphics
  • Music
  • News
  • Photoshop
  • PHP
  • Promoted
  • Rails
  • Resources
  • Showcase
  • Tools
  • Tutorial
  • Twitter
  • Typography
  • Uncategorized
  • Usability
  • UX
  • Wallpapers
  • Wireframing
  • WordPress
  • Work

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

SpyreStudios © 2022