The internet is an amazing place. It’s full of information and opportunities, but it’s also a challenging place to navigate if you’re blind or visually impaired. In fact, about 1.4 billion people live with some form of disability worldwide—that’s about 15% of the world’s population and almost half the United States’ population!
So it’s important that we create websites that are accessible for everyone, not just those with perfect vision or hearing. Here are five best practices you can use to make sure your website truly represents all visitors:
Consider Using A Contrast Checker For Color
Many of the best practices we’ve discussed can be automated with tools that check for accessibility. There are many such tools available, but one of the most popular is called a “contrast checker.”
This tool will tell you if your website passes or fails when it comes to color contrast (it’s important that there be enough difference between text and background colors).
If your site fails this test, it could mean that people with disabilities won’t be able to read what’s written on your pages–and that means they won’t be able to navigate through them either!
Make Sure Your Navigation Menu Is Easily Accessible
Navigation is a crucial part of any website’s design. If your navigation menu isn’t easy to use, find and understand, you risk losing customers. Make sure it’s easy to find. Your main navigation bar should be located at the top or bottom of every page on your website–and always within an HTML tag so that screen readers can access it easily (more on this later).
It should also include descriptive labels such as Home or About Us rather than just linking directly to those pages without any context as to what they’re about; consider using icons if necessary so readers can visually identify what each link represents without having read through all of its text first.
Use Standard Fonts And Font Sizes
If you’re going to create an accessible website, you need to make sure the text is easy for everyone to see and read. The best way to do that? Use standard fonts and font sizes.
Don’t use fancy fonts with lots of different styles (e.g., italics) because these can make it difficult for someone using assistive technology like screen readers or magnifiers–which rely on text being presented in one consistent format–to get all their information quickly enough before jumping ahead too far down your page.*
Incorporate Alt-Text Into All Images
Incorporating alt-text into all images is another great practice to follow. Alt-text refers to the text alternative for an image, and it helps people who can’t see the image (eg: someone using a screen reader) understand what’s in it.
It also helps search engines better understand your content so that they can more accurately display search results for users looking for information about your company or product. Using descriptive and concise alt-text will ensure that everyone has access to all of your content, regardless of whether they have visual impairment or not!
Provide Subtitles Or Captioning For Video Content
If you’re using video on your website, it’s important to make sure that the content is accessible for everyone. This includes people who are deaf or hard of hearing. To ensure that your videos are accessible, provide captions in a way that makes sense for your audience. #
You can do this either by creating them yourself or hiring third-party services such as Captioning Express or YouTube Live Streaming Tools (YTLS). Either way, captions should be easy to find and easy to read so viewers don’t have trouble following along with what they’re watching!
All Websites Should Be Accessible
Accessibility is important for everyone. It’s about making sure that everyone can use your website, regardless of their physical or mental abilities. Accessibility is not just about people with disabilities, though–it’s also about making sure that everyone can use your website in the way that works best for them.
A good example of this would be someone who wants to use a screen reader instead of browsing on a smartphone or tablet (or vice versa). Or maybe you have customers who are blind and don’t have access to visual content? You should try to accommodate such needs by providing alternative text descriptions or captions for images as well as keeping your navigation simple so it’s easy to navigate with only keyboard shortcuts if needed.
Conclusion
We hope this article has given you some helpful tips on how to make your website more accessible. Accessibility is essential for all websites, and it’s especially important when it comes to visual content like videos and images. With a few simple steps, you can ensure that anyone with any kind of disability or impairment can easily use your site.
Read About: What is WordPress Website? Key Elements of Website Design
