Improving Website Accessibility: How We Can All Do More!
Website accessibility refers to the inclusive practice of ensuring that websites are usable and navigable by all people, regardless of their disabilities. The internet has become an essential part of modern life, and ensuring that everyone can access the information and services it provides is crucial. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of website accessibility and the tools available to help website owners improve their website accessibility.
The Importance of Website Accessibility
Website accessibility is crucial because it ensures that everyone, regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities, can use and navigate a website. According to the World Health Organization, about 15% of the world's population has a disability, and this number is expected to increase as the population ages. In the United States alone, there are over 61 million people with a disability, and they all need access to the same online services and information as everyone else.
In addition to being a legal requirement in many countries, making websites accessible also makes good business sense. In the United States, people with disabilities have a combined purchasing power of over $490 billion. By making your website accessible, you are not only meeting legal requirements, but you are also opening up your business to a wider audience.
Statistics on Website Accessibility
Despite the importance of website accessibility, many websites are still not accessible. According to a study by WebAIM, a nonprofit organization dedicated to web accessibility, 97.8% of homepages of the top 1 million websites failed to meet the minimum requirements for web accessibility. This is a shocking statistic, considering the number of people with disabilities who rely on the internet for information and services.
Another study by the United Nations revealed that 70% of websites are inaccessible to people with disabilities. This includes websites that are used by governments, educational institutions, and businesses, making it difficult for people with disabilities to access the information and services they need. These statistics highlight just how important website accessibility is, both from a user experience and legal standpoint. With so many people living with disabilities, it's crucial that businesses and organizations make their websites accessible to all users.
Tools for Website Accessibility
Fortunately, there are many tools available to help website owners improve their website accessibility. Some of these tools are free, while others require a fee. Here are some of the most popular tools for website accessibility:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): The WCAG are a set of guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to help website owners make their websites more accessible. The guidelines are organized into three levels of conformance: A, AA, and AAA. To comply with the guidelines, website owners must ensure that their websites are perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool: This is a free online tool that checks the accessibility of a website by highlighting errors and providing suggestions to fix them. It also gives a detailed report of the website's accessibility issues and suggestions for improving them.
WebAIM's Accessibility Evaluation Tool: Another free online tool, this one allows you to test a website's accessibility by running automated checks and providing a detailed report of any issues. It can also simulate various disabilities to help you understand how users with different abilities might experience the website.
Axe Accessibility Testing Tools: Axe is a suite of testing tools for web accessibility. It includes a browser extension that can be used to test web pages for accessibility issues in real-time. It also provides detailed explanations of the issues and suggestions for fixing them.
Lighthouse Accessibility Tools: Lighthouse is an open-source tool that audits web pages for performance, SEO, and accessibility. It provides a detailed report of any accessibility issues, along with suggestions for fixing them.
Tenon.io: Tenon is a paid tool that provides automated accessibility testing for websites. It can be integrated with various development environments and provides a detailed report of accessibility issues, along with suggestions for fixing them.
Website accessibility is essential for ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities, can use and navigate a website. With a significant portion of the world's population living with disabilities, making websites accessible is not only a legal requirement but also a crucial aspect of good business practice. Despite the importance of website accessibility, many websites fail to meet minimum accessibility requirements. By using these tools, website owners can make their websites accessible to a wider audience and provide an inclusive online experience for all users.
If you need support making your website more accessible, why not get in touch with our team and find out how we can help.