Who Benefits from Website Accessibility? – accessibility overlay
Website accessibility is something on the minds of many in recent times, never more so than during the pandemic the world has faced these past two years. While we are all grateful that the internet is here and has kept the world and many of its businesses going during this time, for some it hasn’t proved as easy. We may be quick to assume that having access to the internet has been a huge step forward for those who are disabled. And in part this is true. It has opened up many opportunities for disabled people. But just as a disabled person may need a ramp to enter a building, they may need some additional help before they can enjoy the benefits of the internet. A great way to make a website fully accessible to a disabled user is to use an accessibility overlay on your website. This will give them the equal access they deserve.
What does website accessibility look like?
To make a website accessible doesn’t have to mean major changes to your website. As I’m sure you’re aware, there are many types of disabilities and many different ways that they affect people, so a number of small adjustments can make the difference to a variety of disabled users. For example, someone with a hearing impairment may benefit from subtitles on any videos that are on your website. A person with a visual impairment may benefit from being able to adjust the font size. A person with cognitive difficulties may benefit from smaller paragraphs, subjects divided into separate tabs, simple and easy to understand language. These are just a few of the changes that could make a big difference to a disabled person.
Who benefits from website accessibility?
For a disabled person, it can mean the difference between being able to use a website or not. It can make their experience much easier and enjoyable, rather than painful and frustrating.
It can also be beneficial to your business. You will be making your website available to millions more people so the potential for growth for your company is plain to see. It will help your company’s reputation and place you higher in the search engine rankings.
It will also be beneficial to all other users of your site, whether disabled or not. Speaking from my own experience, the number of times I have been on the internet with a sleeping baby on my knee and I’ve benefited from the use of subtitles on any videos. Or again, because of a sleeping baby in my arms, using a mouse would be quite difficult, so being able to use the keyboard has proved helpful.
Summary
There are many reasons to get on board with website accessibility and the results will benefit every visitor to your site and your company too. If you haven’t yet made that leap into website accessibility, now is the time to make the changes needed.
