This is why the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG , were created. These standards were established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the organization responsible for implementing technologies and regulations for the development and use of the Internet.
In this article, you will learn the guidelines to make your website accessible to all audiences, and especially to those who suffer from some type of disability. We will analyze what web accessibility is, the principles that govern it, its effect on positioning and some key tips for implementing it.
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Web accessibility is a set of features that make a website more usable for people with disabilities or illiteracy. In other words, a series of principles are applied to adjust the functioning of the online environment so that more users can navigate with as few obstacles as possible.
The aim of this concept is to make the web more inclusive and to ensure that users with physical limitations, especially visual or hearing, have no impediments to accessing information.
This includes adapting any web element, no matter how insignificant it may seem, such as verification captchas .
Types of web accessibilityWeb accessibility is mainly classified into three types, depending on the disability of the user.
We explain them below:
Physical ones are those created for those who have some motor impediment that makes it difficult or impossible for them to interact with devices.
This includes adapting keyboards, voice dictation programs, head pointing devices, touch screens, and alternative input devices.
2) Sensory
The sensorial one is focused on people with visual, hearing or both disabilities.
It involves the use of subtitles, magnifiers and screen readers, voice-to-text transcription, alternative texts, image descriptions, among other actions.
Similarly, people with color blindness or other visual conditions should be able to adjust contrast, saturation or convert the website to monochrome, among other options.
3) Cognitive
Cognitive therapies are aimed at people with difficulties in learning, understanding and communication.
A phone number database is fundamentally a storehouse for these connections. It gathers contact details from a range of sources, including companies, social networking sites, and even public data, to build an extensive network that phone number database cuts over geographic boundaries. However, it’s about people—their relationships, goals, and stories—rather than just numbers.
For example: with Down syndrome,
Some of its actions are using clear language, offering customization options, reading guides, simple text structures, etc.
Principles of web accessibility
To make a website accessible to users with disabilities, you should be guided by these four principles:
Perceptible
Users should be able to use the information displayed on a website to both inform themselves and to use it . For example, by adding alternative text to images, screen readers can describe them to people with visual impairments.
Operable
This principle aims to make the website navigable . This involves offering customization options that help users interact with the content of unusual progress signs on the path to a breakthrough the page. One way to achieve this is to make it possible to navigate the site using a keyboard instead of a mouse.
The entire website, including categories and content
should be easy to understand for users with any disability. The priority is to make information legible by having an organized structure and intuitive navigation.
Robust
It is essential that an accessible website and its components work seamlessly on both computers and mobile devices, and that they are compatible with any browser .
This means going beyond responsive design. Make sure your website is compatible with as many devices and accessibility tools as possible.
Why is web accessibility important?
There are many good reasons why you should canada email lead make your online site accessible to people with disabilities. Let’s look at the most important ones.
By making your website accessible, you
Provide equal opportunities for all people, including those with disabilities, to benefit from your content.
This shows appreciation for your audience and their special needs.
2nd Social and ethical responsibility
It is true that when you created your website you thought of a specific target audience, which has certain characteristics.
However, by recognizing that there are users who have physical limitations and offering them options to access your website, you are contributing to society.
Comply with the law
In a number of countries, web accessibility is a legal requirement. When it is not complied with, significant penalties and fines can be applied. This applies mainly to companies and organisations, since they are generally the ones that produce the most content.
How does web accessibility affect positioning?
Web accessibility also has an impact on SEO positioning . Let’s analyze how it helps to gain visibility.
Improve user experience
The main objective of web accessibility is for users to enjoy visiting a site.
So, by offering them this possibility, the user experience will be more pleasant and this will translate into more conversions, such as shares, comments and direct searches.
Boost engagement metrics
Offering navigation solutions for disabled users can be a differentiating value that motivates them to prefer your website over the competition. Therefore, it will improve the CTR , increase the time spent on the site and reduce the bounce rate.
Increase online visibility
When Google and other search engines notice the good results we just mentioned, they will rank your website higher and higher in the SERPs . In turn, this will attract more qualified users, thus improving your organic positioning.
Tips to improve web accessibility
Throughout this article we have already mentioned some actions to make your website more accessible. But now we will talk about them in more detail.
The Alt tag on images on your site is typically used to add SEO text, but can also be used to provide web accessibility.
