Can web design become even more important than it already was? Yes indeed. Whereas before web design was mainly about a beautiful spatial design that is also smart enough to send your users in the right direction, next year we will go one step further.
Differentiating yourself with your web design? Remains important. User-friendly web design? Remains important too. But it is the accessibility of your website to all your users that is becoming increasingly important. We call it "accessibility". How can you stand out in 2020 with your web design through web accessibility? We have listed the most important things for you!
Looking for a new web accessibility web design? Or would you like to have a completely new website created? Then you've come to the right place, at Monkey Vision! Contact us and come and have a chat about the new web design you have in mind.
What is accessible web design?
What exactly do we mean by ¨web accessibility¨? 4 million Dutch people report having a disability; that's a whopping 25%. Through web accessibility, you make your website more readable for this (large) group. This group includes, for example:
- Blind and visually impaired
- Deaf and hard of hearing
- People with motor disabilities
- People at increased risk of seizures
- People who are colour-blind
- Dyslexics
- NT2-er´s (Dutch as a second language)
- Low-literate people
With the ageing population in the United Kingdom, we see this group growing. Older people are more likely to suffer from functional limitations, such as: poor vision, poor hearing, reduced motor control or a combination of these. In younger people, factors such as dyslexia, concentration disorders and cognitive limitations play a role.
Everyone benefits from web accessibility
25% of the Dutch: that's 25% of your potential customers. First of all, it is of course good if you include this part of the Dutch in your target group and work in an inclusive way. In addition, it is also a relevant part of your strategy: if your web design does not comply with the principles of web accessibility, that 25% will logically look for a competitor with an accessible web design. Moreover, if your website complies with these principles, your users without disabilities will benefit as well: your website will have a better structure and will be more conveniently arranged. That's good anyway, whether someone has a disability or not. A well-structured website also scores better in Google rankings.
In short: plenty of reasons why you need to get web-accessible design in 2020. What should you pay attention to? We list a few aspects:
1. Structured page overview
Make sure your pages are well structured. This means a logical and pleasantly readable order. For instance, do not work with pieces of text under each other, but add clarifying headings. Also provide your images with functional titles. This way, supporting tools, search engines and your visitors can quickly see how a page is structured, where which information can be found and what is important.
2. Clarifying page titles
Create clear page titles that show what your visitors can find on the page. This is not only beneficial for the user experience and web accessibility, but also for the SEO of your website. Google sees that your website is easy to navigate and rewards you in the ranking.
3. Skip links in HTML code
Skip-links in the HTML code allow screen reader users to navigate directly to the sections on a page that they consider important at that moment. These skip-links are a type of hyperlink that will remain invisible to the average visitor.
4. Write clear texts
Write in clear language and make your website readable for everyone. Avoid long pieces of text and grammatically complex sentences. Make sure when making references in the text that you are clear about this and also link directly to the right place. Let people figure it out for themselves as little as possible: be clear!
5. Link in a smart way
Make your text links clear and self-contained: they should be readable and understandable even out of context. An example: do not link pieces of text like ¨read more¨, or ¨click here¨. Specify exactly where the text links to, i.e. ¨read on for more information about our therapies¨. Avoid using the page URL as link text and do not make it too long: 100 characters is the max.
6. Transcript accompanying audio and video
Provide audio and/or video clips on your website with a transcript, so that the deaf and hard of hearing can also receive the information. Do you post your video via YouTube? That is super handy! Here you can easily add subtitles.
7. Understandable images that contribute something
To visually impaired and blind people, images largely pass them by. This is a shame when your images do add something to your website and its context. How can you make sure this group still gets the right information? Add an alternative text (alt-text) to the image that represents the content. Does the image contain a link? If so, put where it leads in the alternative text. Prefer not to put text in the images themselves: screen readers and search engines cannot read them. The challenge here is to add images that actually contribute something to the text and are not just ¨for show".
8. Engage a web design agency that knows its stuff
Do you want your website to comply fully with the principles of web accessibility? Then you need to hire a web agency that knows all about web design and code. If you don't just want a new design, but a completely new website, they can take these principles into account from scratch.
Would you like to have a new website created or a beautiful new web design that is also web accessible? Then come and talk to us! Feel free to call and ask about the possibilities.
