An inclusive website is more important than you think in today’s competitive digital world. However, more than half of the websites globally are not accessible to people with disabilities and impairments. If you also think that your website falls in the same category, you need to create a change.
Businesses that prioritise inclusivity and accessibility enjoy an upper hand in the digital space. An inclusive website design addresses the concerns of your target audience and makes them feel that you care for them beyond a monetary transaction.
Every business scared for its success must care about the inclusivity of its website. Here is all you need to know about website inclusivity as a beginner.
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1. Use Inclusive Images
The images you use on your website play a significant role in telling the visitors about your approach to inclusivity. Instead of limiting the interactive element to a limited audience, you must look for ways to make every visitor feel welcome.
Every image you use on your website must be high-quality and clear. But that is not all. You must also ensure that the images you use are not offensive or stereotypical. In addition, make sure that your business does not play any role in cultural appropriation.
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2. Check the Colour Contrast
Have you ever considered viewing your website from a blind person’s perspective? If not, now is the time to do so. While you may never be able to know how they actually see a website and how different colour schemes affect them, you can consider the right colour contrast for added inclusivity.
If you want to make your website more inclusive, you must always prioritise a minimalistic design and light colour palette. The rule of thumb is to ensure that the colour contrast ratio between the background and text should be 4:5:1. This contrast may differ for bigger text on a website. Not sure how to perfect this? Web design at the best of times can be tricky to perfect, but when you add inclusivity into the mix, it can increase the challenges presented. Working with a web design agency can unlock the aspects your website needs so that it accommodates all visitors, not just those who don’t need additional support ot view the content with ease
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3. Consider People with Hearing Issues
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 2.5 billion people are projected to have some degree of hearing loss, and at least 700 million will require hearing rehabilitation by 2050. Such strong numbers suggest that you must care for the needs of your target audience with hearing issues.
For example, if you have video tutorials or guides on your website, make sure that you consider adding sign language or subtitles to make the content easy to understand for the visitors. You can also use a speech to text converter to make your content more accessible for people with hearing issues.
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4. Empathise with Intellectual Disabilities
There are more people with cognitive disabilities than you think. You must empathise with their needs and make your content easy for them to understand. Instead of intimidating people with more content and interactive elements, keep things simple.
Avoid using jargon and complex acronyms that may make visitors with intellectual disabilities feel uncomfortable. Instead, put your best efforts towards ensuring that your content is broken into small chunks to convey information effectively without overwhelming the visitors.
