In today’s digital age, building an inclusive website isn’t just a “nice-to-have”, it’s essential. Accessibility ensures that everyone, regardless of their abilities or challenges, can engage with your content. But beyond ethical and legal obligations, accessible design enhances the user experience for everyone… not just those with disabilities. If you’re a small business owner, achieving ADA compliance can also bolster your reputation and improve your search rankings (yup, it’s key for good SEO).
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Why Accessibility Matters
Accessibility is woven into the fabric of modern web design, dictated by legal frameworks like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These laws and guidelines mandate that digital spaces must be accessible to all, regardless of physical limitations. Non-compliance could expose your business to legal risks, especially in countries like the U.S., where lawsuits over inaccessible websites are on the rise.
But here’s the kicker: an accessible site is often better for all users. When you make a website that caters to people with disabilities, through features like readable fonts, proper color contrast, and easy navigation, you inadvertently create a site that works better for everyone. It’s easier to read, faster to navigate, and more user-friendly.
Business Benefits of Accessibility
Besides the legal implications, making your website accessible can improve your business. An accessible site shows that you care about inclusivity, which can attract a wider audience. But it doesn’t stop there… accessible websites perform better in search engine rankings. Why? Search engines favor well-structured, semantically rich sites that have clear content and are optimized for all devices. Accessibility, in essence, helps your business get found and loved by more people.
Enhancing User Experience for All
Even if you don’t specifically cater to users with disabilities, accessible design features make the browsing experience better for everyone. For instance, a user with poor eyesight might benefit from an easy-to-read font and a high contrast mode, while someone on a slower connection will appreciate a site that’s optimized for speed. Features like keyboard navigation and alternative text for images also provide useful benefits for those in noisy environments, like public transportation.
Expanding Your Site’s Reach
By considering accessibility from the start, you can ensure that your website serves a larger, more diverse audience. Whether it’s someone navigating your site with a screen reader, someone on a mobile device, or a visitor in low-light conditions, accessible features make your site more flexible and usable across various scenarios. This translates to a broader, more engaged audience.
Core Principles of Accessible Design
Building an accessible website hinges on a few key principles. These principles ensure that your website is easy to navigate, read, and understand for users of all abilities.
Perceivability: Content should be presented in ways that all users can perceive, even if they can’t experience it in the same way. This could mean offering text alternatives for non-text content (like images or videos) and ensuring that the contrast between text and background is high enough for easy reading.
Operability: Your site should be usable via keyboard, not just a mouse. Users with motor disabilities often rely on keyboard navigation. Ensuring that all interactive elements (buttons, forms, links) are operable with a keyboard helps create a smoother experience.
Understandability: Content should be easy to understand. This means using clear, simple language and consistent navigation. Providing feedback when users interact with the site (like a confirmation after submitting a form) also enhances usability.
Robustness: Websites need to be compatible with a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies like screen readers. Using semantic HTML and maintaining compatibility across browsers ensures that your site is robust and accessible.
Choosing the Right Accessibility Solution
When choosing an accessibility solution for your website, you need a tool that fits the needs of your platform (e.g. WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, etc.). Below, we’ll discuss some tools and plugins that can help make your site more inclusive and compliant with accessibility standards.
WordPress Accessibility Plugins
WordPress offers a variety of plugins to improve your site’s accessibility. Here are some of the top contenders:
WP Accessibility
WP Accessibility is a plugin that tackles common accessibility issues in WordPress themes and core. It’s not a full accessibility solution, but it does help with essential elements like adding skip links, fixing missing alt text, and adding long descriptions to images. It also helps with keyboard focus states and removes unnecessary tabindex attributes, making it easier for keyboard-only users to navigate.
Key Features:
- Adds skip links for easier navigation
- Fixes issues with missing alt text in images
- Helps with contrast issues using diagnostic tools
- Enhances form field accessibility
Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker
For content-heavy sites, the Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker is a great tool. It provides real-time accessibility error notifications every time you save or publish a post or page. The plugin checks against over 40 accessibility guidelines (including WCAG 2.1), ensuring your content is compliant.
Key Features:
- Real-time accessibility error notifications
- Simple interface for non-experts
- Bulk scanning for posts and pages
- Readability analysis and auto-summary insertion
AccessibleWP – Accessibility Toolbar
If you want to give your users more control over how they experience your site, the AccessibleWP plugin adds a toolbar that lets users adjust the font size, contrast, and even turn off animations. It’s not a comprehensive solution but helps improve usability for people with various disabilities.
Key Features:
- Font size and contrast customization
- Keyboard navigation support
- Ability to disable animations
Squarespace Accessibility Features
Squarespace offers some built-in features for accessibility, including options for adjusting fonts, colors, and image alt text. While there aren’t as many third-party plugins as with WordPress and Shopify, you can still take steps to ensure your Squarespace site is as accessible as possible. You can also utilize universal tools (that work with any site), such as AccessiBe or UserWay (more on these below).
Built-in Features:
- Built-in text size and contrast adjustments
- Alt text support for images
- Easy-to-navigate templates that prioritize accessibility
Shopify Accessibility Apps
Though Shopify doesn’t offer as many accessibility-focused tools as WordPress, there are still some excellent apps available to improve your store’s accessibility.
Web Accessibility by AccessiBe
AccessiBe’s Web Accessibility for Shopify is a powerful tool for any platform (more on this below). It’s a bit different from traditional plugins because it doesn’t modify your site’s code. Instead, it overlays its accessibility fixes onto your website, which makes it a quick and easy solution for improving accessibility quickly, especially if you don’t have the technical knowledge to rework code. It also provides a front-end tool for users to adjust the site to meet their needs, including color contrast, text size, and screen reader support.
Key Features:
- Quick and easy setup without the need for code
- Overlay-based fixes (no need for code changes)
- Front-end accessibility tools for users
- Customizable UI for customer profiles
- Automated scans and fixes
AccessEz Accessibility Widget
This Shopify app adds accessibility features, such as a widget, keyboard navigation, and screen reader optimization. It’s a simple solution for Shopify owners who want to ensure their site is more inclusive. Plus, it is very affordable (Free or $5/mo).
Key Features:
- Customize widget appearance and colors.
- Accessibility profiles: Low Vision, Dyslexia, Seizure, and more.
- Adjust text size, spacing, alignment, and highlight links.
- Activate features like Contrast, Text-to-Speech, Voice Navigation
The Universal ADA Apps
No matter what platform you’re using, apps like AccessiBe and UserWay can help. Unlike traditional plugins that modify your site’s code, AccessiBe overlays accessibility improvements directly onto your site. It automatically adjusts your website’s elements to meet ADA and WCAG standards, offering features like contrast toggles, font adjustments, and keyboard navigation. While the pricing model is different for each, they both will end up being around $49/mo.
AccessiBe Highlights
- Charges based on page views (starting at 1000)
- It works on any website platform
- Fast, non-invasive setup
- Front-end widget for users to adjust their experience
- Maintains compliance with ADA and WCAG guidelines ongoing
- Includes automated AI-driven features to remediate website issues within 48 hours.
UserWay Highlights
- Charges based on monthly page views (starting at 100,000)
- Works with any platform
- Front-end widget for users to adjust their experience
- Maintains compliance with ADA and WCAG guidelines ongoing
- Includes an automated and manual detection and remediation options
- Some fixes must be done manually
- Offers a free accessibility widget option
Ongoing Maintenance: Keeping Your Site Accessible
Once your site is up and running with the right tools, you must maintain it to ensure long-term accessibility compliance. Here are some key steps:
Regular Content Audits
Even if you have an accessibility plugin in place, regular audits of your content are necessary to ensure it remains accessible. When adding new pages, blog posts, or media, ensure the following:
- Images: Always add descriptive alt text to images.
- Forms: Label all form fields properly, ensuring screen readers can interpret them.
- Links: Use clear, descriptive text for links (avoid “click here” or “read more”).
- Videos: Provide captions or transcriptions for multimedia content.
Monitor Plugin Updates
Plugins and apps frequently get updated to comply with new guidelines or to fix issues. Always ensure your accessibility tools are updated to the latest version. Check your plugin or app’s update log to see if there are any new features or bug fixes that could improve your site’s accessibility.
Test Periodically with Accessibility Tools
Use tools like WAVE, Lighthouse, or the built-in testing features from your platform (WordPress, Shopify, or Squarespace) to scan your site for accessibility errors. These tools can identify issues like missing alt text, poor color contrast, and unlabelled form fields.
- Lighthouse: Google’s Lighthouse tool can be used in Chrome’s Developer Tools to run accessibility audits on your site. It will give you a score and provide actionable insights for improving your site.
- WAVE: This web accessibility evaluation tool gives you a visual overview of potential issues on your site and offers tips for improvement.
Stay Updated with Accessibility Guidelines
As web accessibility guidelines evolve (particularly the WCAG 2.1), it’s important to stay informed. Regularly review updates to accessibility standards, especially if your website’s target audience or features change. This will help you avoid falling behind on legal or compliance requirements.
Accessible Websites for All
Accessibility is a must for ensuring your website serves everyone, including people with disabilities. The right tools and ongoing maintenance will help you not only comply with legal requirements but also improve your site’s usability and performance.
Start by choosing the right accessibility tool for your platform, implement it carefully, and continue to monitor your site’s compliance as you update and add new content. Whether you opt for plugins like WP Accessibility for WordPress, accessibility apps for Shopify, or built-in features from Squarespace, or even go the extra mile with AccessiBe for a platform-agnostic solution, your commitment to accessibility will help you build a better, more inclusive website and it will be noticed.
