How to Improve Website Accessibility

Improving website accessibility ensures that your site is usable by people with various disabilities, such as visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor impairments. Making your website accessible not only helps you comply with legal requirements but also improves user experience and broadens your audience. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to improve website accessibility:

1. Use Semantic HTML

Semantic HTML provides meaning to the content of your web pages. By using correct tags (like <header>, <footer>, <article>, and <section>), screen readers can better understand and navigate the content.

Why It Matters: Screen readers rely on proper HTML structure to interpret content. Using semantic tags helps people with visual impairments navigate websites efficiently.
Action: Ensure you’re using appropriate HTML5 elements to structure the layout and content. Avoid overuse of non-semantic tags like <div> or <span>.

2. Ensure Keyboard Navigation

Many users with disabilities rely on keyboard navigation, either because they can’t use a mouse or have difficulty using one. Make sure your website can be fully navigated via the keyboard.

Why It Matters: Keyboard navigation allows users with motor disabilities to move through and interact with your website.
Action: Ensure all interactive elements (links, buttons, forms, etc.) are focusable and usable via the Tab key. Additionally, create custom skip navigation links for easier access to content.

3. Provide Text Alternatives for Media

Providing text-based alternatives, like captions or transcripts, for images, audio, and video content, is essential for people with auditory and visual impairments.

Why It Matters: Users with hearing or visual impairments may not be able to access the information presented in images, videos, or other multimedia.
Action:
- Alt text: Provide descriptive alt text for images to explain the content visually impaired users might miss.
- Captions: Offer captions for videos and transcripts for audio files.
- Audio Descriptions: For videos, include audio descriptions that narrate key visual information.

4. Use Color with Care

Color-blind users or users with low vision can struggle if you rely too heavily on color to convey information. It’s important to provide contrast and alternatives to color cues.

Why It Matters: People with color blindness may not be able to distinguish colors used in charts, buttons, or text.
Action:
- Ensure sufficient contrast between text and background colors. Use tools like WebAIM’s Contrast Checker to verify accessibility.
- Avoid using color alone to convey important information. For example, use icons, labels, or patterns in addition to color to differentiate elements (e.g., “required” fields).

5. Provide Clear and Descriptive Links

Links should be descriptive and clearly explain the purpose or destination when clicked, which is especially important for screen readers.

Why It Matters: Descriptive links improve the navigation experience for screen reader users and provide more context.
Action: Use text like “Click here to view the full report” instead of vague phrases like “Click here.” Avoid using “read more” or “click here” without context.

6. Implement ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) Roles

ARIA is a set of special accessibility attributes that can be added to HTML to enhance accessibility, especially for dynamic content like widgets or complex interactive elements.

Why It Matters: ARIA roles and properties help assistive technologies understand complex UI elements like sliders, accordions, and modals.
Action: Use ARIA landmarks (like role="navigation", role="banner", role="main") to describe sections of your page. You can also use ARIA live regions to alert screen readers to changes in dynamic content.

7. Create Accessible Forms

Forms are one of the most critical areas where accessibility can make or break the experience. Accessible forms help all users, particularly those with visual impairments, navigate and complete forms with ease.

Why It Matters: Users with disabilities often rely on screen readers to navigate forms. Properly labeled form elements are crucial for usability.
Action:
- Use the <label> tag for form inputs, ensuring each label is correctly associated with its input field via the for attribute.
- Include clear instructions, error messages, and validations.
- Ensure that form elements are navigable via the keyboard and are properly ordered.

8. Test with Screen Readers

Screen readers are essential tools for visually impaired users. Regularly testing your website with screen readers is key to identifying potential issues and ensuring usability.

Why It Matters: It’s crucial to ensure that your website is fully navigable and understandable using screen readers like NVDA, JAWS, or VoiceOver.
Action: Regularly test your website using screen readers and make necessary adjustments to improve readability and navigation.

9. Provide Easy-to-Understand Content

Accessible websites should present content clearly and in a manner that can be easily understood by people with cognitive disabilities.

Why It Matters: People with cognitive impairments may struggle with complex language, long paragraphs, or poorly structured content.
Action:
- Use simple, concise language and break up large blocks of text into short paragraphs.
- Use headings, bullet points, and lists to organize information logically.
- Consider providing summaries or explanations for complicated content.

10. Enable Resizable Text

Some users with visual impairments may need to adjust text sizes. Ensure your site allows users to resize the text without breaking the layout.

Why It Matters: Text resizing is critical for users with low vision, allowing them to read the content more easily.
Action: Avoid fixed-width layouts and ensure that your website uses relative units (e.g., em or %) instead of fixed units like px for font sizes. Test resizing to ensure the design remains functional.

11. Use Consistent Navigation

Navigation should be consistent across the site, providing users with a predictable and straightforward experience.

Why It Matters: Consistent navigation helps users with cognitive impairments or those with limited experience using websites.
Action: Ensure that your website’s main navigation elements are easy to locate and consistent across all pages. Consider adding a skip navigation link to help users skip repetitive content.

12. Mobile Accessibility

Since many users access the web via mobile devices, ensuring your website is accessible on mobile is crucial.

Why It Matters: Mobile users, including those with disabilities, may struggle if a website is not optimized for mobile devices.
Action: Make sure your website is responsive (adjusting to different screen sizes), and test the user experience on both desktop and mobile devices.

13. Provide Language and Localization Features

Ensure that your website is accessible to users who speak different languages or who use different types of assistive technologies.

Why It Matters: Offering language choices and localizing content ensures that all users, regardless of language, can access the information.
Action: Provide easy language-switching options and ensure all localized content follows accessibility best practices.

14. Comply with WCAG Guidelines

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide a comprehensive framework for making web content accessible to people with various disabilities.

Why It Matters: Following WCAG ensures that your website meets global standards for accessibility.
Action: Familiarize yourself with the WCAG 2.1 guidelines and aim for Level AA compliance. These guidelines focus on text alternatives, adaptable layouts, ease of navigation, and more.

15. Test Your Site Regularly

Accessibility isn’t a one-time task. It’s important to continually test and update your website to maintain accessibility.

Why It Matters: As websites evolve and new technologies emerge, regular testing ensures that accessibility is maintained.
Action: Use automated tools like Google Lighthouse, axe, or WAVE to run regular accessibility audits. Manual testing with assistive technologies (e.g., screen readers) is also essential for finding nuanced accessibility issues.