Website Architecture Planning | Accessibility Testing

Brick and mortar stores are legally required to be accessible. What does accessibility mean? According to state accessibility laws, all individuals with disabilities are ensured different opportunities as those without. The Americans with Disabilities Act forbids discrimination based on infirmities in public employment, accommodations, transportation, commercial facilities, telecommunications, and state and local government. For example, a wheelchair must be able to fit through doorways. It only makes sense for stores to have to accommodate anyone and everyone, but what about the internet?

There are many best practices to follow when it comes to accessibility testing. Making your website accessible to customers—despite any disability they may have—is not only the law, but it is also vital to make sure everyone can access your website. This can benefit your business as it ensures that people will visit your website and potentially be able to buy your product or service despite their limitations.

There are many disabilities that can affect how a person uses a website. For example—if they have incapacities that hinder their vision—it might be difficult for them to see the content on your page unless you are following accessibility best. They may also have difficulty with hearing, which means you have to think about using captions for any videos or audio that you have posted.

On the other hand, there may be those with disabilities that benefit from having audio files as they might be unable to read the text. You will likely need to make accommodations on your webpage due to accommodate accessibility standards. By following these best practices, you put your business in line with competitors who are already making it easy for visitors, despite their limitations, to understand the content on their webpage.

Here is the information you need as well as the best practices to follow to ensure your website is compliant with the accessibility laws that govern the internet.

In today’s world, it is impossible to avoid use of the Internet. Despite its stark origins and initially-spartan purpose, the World Wide Web has become completely ubiquitous in modern life. Whether for business, for educational purposes, or simply for leisure, almost everyone across the globe uses the Internet, where possible.

That said, a sad fact is that the Internet is not always accessible to everyone. For some, barriers exist that keep them from using online content or resources. These can be physical disabilities or conditions, but they can include economic or cultural factors. To prevent or mitigate this, responsible nations would do well to lay out policies to make web content accessible to all their citizens.

Naturally, concerned parties would have several questions. What criteria are needed to devise such a policy? What countries have such policies to date? What is covered under the existing policy? These are the questions that this article aims to answer.

Most people take being able to communicate without assistance for granted every day. There are people all over the world who are hearing, voice, speech, and language impaired, and it can be difficult for them to communicate their needs to others without using devices. Some people who are hearing, voice, speech, or language impaired were born with these disabilities and might not know any different. Others might have lost their hearing or ability to communicate due to illnesses, age, or even accidents.

When designing a new website or updating it to adhere to the most up-to-date accessibility laws and regulations, there are many guidelines to follow. Making sure a website is accessible to all users, especially those with disabilities is important for a variety of reasons. Not only is it the law, but it can also be beneficial to a company. It allows them to have more visitors, make more sales, and obtain many customers for the long-term. Websites that are inaccessible to those with disabilities may not only hurt sales or the number of visitors but can, more importantly, be frustrating to its users.