Website Accessibility Audit
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Discover how to make your website more accessible to people with disabilities.
Technology is always evolving, and all websites need ongoing care and maintenance. With the recent enhanced focus on inclusivity, accessibility has become increasingly important in website design and development. If you receive federal funding, this is something that you must be especially aware of, because, of new legislation announced in April, requiring federal programs to have ADA compliant websites. While Section 508 does not specifically apply to federally funded programs, it often extends to them through other laws and through state policies. Many states have passed their own legislation requiring Information and Communication Technology (ICT) accessibility.
With the recent updates in search engine rankings and requirements, coupled with the technology and awareness of accessibility requirements, Design TLC highly recommends that all sites undergo an evaluation and remediation for accessibility.
Why Website Accessibility is Important
Legal Compliance
In many countries around the world, laws require websites to be accessible. Some laws require only public sector (government) websites to be accessible. But, increasingly, laws worldwide also require business and nonprofit websites to be accessible to people with disabilities.
The ADA, which has no specific web accessibility guidelines, is increasingly being used to enforce website accessibility. Even with the ADA remaining unclear, it’s estimated that nearly 1,500 cases will be brought forward under the ADA before the end of 2018.
For laws like Section 504 and 508 which explicitly lay out web accessibility guidelines, legislation is far less likely to be up for interpretation, making it crucial that federal agencies and federally funded programs fully understand and adhere to the law.
Broader Audience Reach
Many accessibility remediation efforts overlap with search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Google and other search engines require semantic HTML and quality code to understand what websites are about. Improving accessibility on websites can help them to rank better in search engines, thus bringing more traffic to the site.
Beyond bringing more traffic in general, making a website accessible broadens the customer group who can use it. People with disabilities make up a significant portion of the global population (1 in 6 people). By making your website accessible, you ensure this group can engage with your products, services, and content.
Enhanced User Experience
Improving accessibility often leads to a better overall user experience for all visitors, not just people with disabilities. Accessible websites typically have cleaner layouts and clearer navigation. They may have faster load times due to reduced use of animations and JavaScript. There may be more clearly defined paths or journeys leading users to take the actions you want them to take.
Ethical and Moral Imperatives
Ensuring website accessibility is a matter of social responsibility and ethical obligation.
Everyone should have equal access to information, products, and services, regardless of their abilities. All people should be able to live a happy and healthy life.
Live Your Values
By prioritizing accessibility, organizations
demonstrate their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In today’s business culture, corporations create values and meaningful mission statements. Having an accessible website is a way organizations can live the values they’ve put on paper (or on the wall).
Create a Positive Brand Image
In line with living corporate values, prioritizing accessibility can also help organizations build a positive brand image in the public. Consumers increasingly expect businesses to prioritize inclusivity and diversity.
By investing in accessibility, organizations show that they value all customers and stakeholders.
Reduced Costs
Accessibility may require some upfront investment, but in the long run,
investing in website accessibility can reduce businesses’ costs. If you wait until a complaint is received, fixing the problem will be a lot more expensive.