Great news.

You’ve looked at your audience, your data and previous messaging and used that info to create a campaign that will reach your intended targets.

But have you missed something?

It’s so easy to miss the wood for the trees – and a big portion of your audience will swerve your content – no matter what you offer or say – if you forget about one thing…

Accessibility.

Did you know 15% of the world’s population has a disability that affects their day-to-day lives?

More than 200 million people worldwide have moderate to severe visual impairment?

Have you considered the rise in the population of those aged 65 and over, who will require clear, concise information and an increase in the need for visual clarity and tools on your site?

What of the millions of people with cognitive impairment, who will require your site to deliver information in a transparent, segmented fashion?

And those with ambulatory issues who use specific devices to surf the web?

Your site may well have all the bells and whistles. Your content may have been crafted by the unholy union of Shakespeare and Stephen Fry – but you might as well pour petrol on it and set it ablaze if your site and content isn’t geared up for everyone.

Fear not, here’s some easy tips for you to make sure you don’t miss a thing and everyone can benefit from your messaging and website.

Accessibility top tips

Different devices

We all know that your site must adapt to a growing mobile audience – but what of those who need to use different devices to access the web?

Screen readers, Mouth-to-Blow devices, screen magnifiers, voice recognition software, selection switches and many more – all designed to dissolve the obstacles for people who cannot use conventional keyboards and mice.

To make the web a place for everyone as it was intended.

To ensure these devices are catered for, there’s a few things to bear in mind.

Headers

The devices above will rely on the ability to move between selections and relevant parts of the page. 

Without headers, the content remains one big block that is a nightmare to traverse.

So make sure that if the platform you use for your site doesn’t have the correct coding, that you input the correct headers manually, so everything you convey is simple to scroll through.

Colours

Firstly, the foreground and background must contrast – otherwise people with sight-related disabilities will bounce from your page quicker than a disappearing blue tick from Twitter.

Then, you must consider your buttons. Are they the right colour? Is the writing as clearly visible as possible?

And when it comes to forms, avoid using colour to pass through a message. For example, don’t say “required fields in red.” That means a lot of people won’t be able to distinguish what fields need to be filled in. Instead, use a symbol to let people know what your mandatory fields are.

You can check for contrast ratio easily, visit https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/

Images

You know you have to add alt text, right?

It means people unable to see your images can get a description of the image. It helps with your SEO too.

Also, if you have videos, make sure you add in a transcript of the audio, so everyone can consume your video. Without it, as well as captions for your media, your users will avoid your content.

You also need to make sure that any content that auto-plays can be easily stopped too. It’s not just for accessibility – some people will be in an environment where sound is a no-no.

Links

This one is simple.

If you’re including a hyperlink, make it as descriptive as possible. 

So, instead of “For more info, click here.”

Try, “Read more on your next choice of lawnmower”

There’s plenty more to consider, but getting these right is a great start.

There’s a list of web standards and an organisation set up to ensure the web is available to everyone, visit their website to find out more standards and measures you can take.