As businesses increasingly shift their focus to the digital space, ensuring that websites are accessible to everyone is not just an ethical responsibility, but a strategic move that can improve user experience and boost SEO. Website accessibility, in line with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), ensures that individuals with disabilities can navigate and interact with online content effectively.
In this article, we’ll explore why accessibility is crucial, its impact on SEO, and how to make your website compliant with accessibility standards.
What is Website Accessibility?
Website accessibility refers to the design and development of websites that can be used by people with various disabilities, such as visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, or neurological impairments. The goal is to create an inclusive web experience, where all users, regardless of their abilities, can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the website without barriers.
The WCAG, created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), provides a comprehensive set of guidelines aimed at improving accessibility. WCAG 2.1 is the current standard, which focuses on four key principles: making content perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
Why is Website Accessibility Important?
1. Legal Compliance
For many businesses, ensuring accessibility isn’t just a best practice but a legal requirement. In countries like the UK, the Equality Act (2010) enforces accessibility, requiring companies to ensure that digital services, including websites, are accessible to all users. Non-compliance could lead to legal penalties and damage to the brand’s reputation.
2. Improved SEO and Search Rankings
Search engines like Google increasingly favour websites that are accessible. An accessible website provides a better user experience, which leads to higher engagement metrics such as lower bounce rates and longer session times – factors that contribute to improved SEO. Features like alt text for images, keyboard navigation, and logical heading structures can also help search engines crawl and understand your website better.
3. Enhanced User Experience
An accessible website creates a better experience for all users, not just those with disabilities. Features like clear navigation, well-structured content, and text alternatives for non-text content make it easier for everyone to use the site. When users have a positive experience on your site, they are more likely to stay longer, return, and convert, improving overall performance.
4. Expanded Audience Reach
By making your website accessible, you open your digital doors to a broader audience. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 1 billion people globally live with some form of disability. By ensuring that your site is compliant with accessibility standards, you make your content available to this sizeable group of users, thereby increasing your potential customer base.
How to Make Your Website Accessible
Ensuring website accessibility may seem like a daunting task, but breaking it down into manageable steps can make the process more achievable. Below are key strategies to make your website compliant with WCAG guidelines.
1. Provide Text Alternatives for Non-Text Content
Every image, video, and non-text element on your website should have an appropriate text alternative. Alt text for images ensures that screen readers can describe images to visually impaired users. Similarly, transcripts for audio content and captions for videos help those with hearing impairments understand the content.
Example: If you have an image of a product on an e-commerce site, the alt text should describe the product clearly, e.g., “Red leather handbag with gold accents.”
2. Ensure Keyboard Navigation
Some users cannot operate a mouse and rely on a keyboard to navigate through a website. Make sure that all interactive elements – such as links, buttons, and forms – can be accessed and activated using the keyboard. Testing the website by tabbing through content is an easy way to identify areas that may not be fully accessible via keyboard alone.
Tip: Ensure that focus indicators (visual cues showing which element is currently selected) are visible when navigating with a keyboard.
3. Use Proper Heading Structure
A logical heading structure not only helps visually impaired users navigate the content via screen readers but also improves the SEO of your website. Each page should have one H1 tag, which is the main heading, followed by subheadings (H2, H3, etc.) in a hierarchical order. This structure ensures that both users and search engines can easily understand the content’s flow.
4. Improve Colour Contrast
Many users with visual impairments, such as colour blindness, may struggle to read text that lacks sufficient contrast with its background. WCAG recommends a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. You can use online contrast checkers to ensure that your website’s design meets these standards.
Pro Tip: Avoid relying solely on colour to convey information. For example, if an error is shown in red, accompany it with a text message such as “Please correct the highlighted fields.”
5. Make Forms Accessible
Forms are a critical component of many websites, but they can be difficult to use if they aren’t properly designed for accessibility. Ensure that every form element has clear labels, error messages are easy to understand, and the form can be navigated via keyboard.
Example: For a “Name” field in a form, ensure the label is directly associated with the input field, so screen readers can accurately convey what information is needed.
6. Use Descriptive Links
Avoid using vague text for hyperlinks like “Click here” or “Read more.” Instead, make sure the link text is descriptive of the content it leads to. This helps both users and search engines understand the context of the link.
Example: Instead of “Click here for more information,” use “Learn more about our web design services.”
7. Test with Accessibility Tools
Several online tools can help you test your website for accessibility. Tools like WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) or Google Lighthouse can identify issues with colour contrast, keyboard navigation, and text alternatives. Regular testing ensures that your website stays compliant with WCAG guidelines as it evolves.
Why Accessibility Matters for SEO
Aside from creating a more inclusive experience for users, accessibility also enhances your website’s visibility on search engines. Google and other search engines reward websites that are well-structured, easy to navigate, and provide quality content for all users, regardless of their abilities.
Here’s how accessibility impacts SEO:
- Improved user engagement metrics: Accessible websites tend to have lower bounce rates and higher session durations, both of which are positive ranking signals for Google.
- Better indexing: Well-structured headings, alt text, and semantic HTML help search engines better understand the content, improving indexing and search ranking.
- Increased reach: By catering to users with disabilities, you’re expanding your audience, which can lead to more traffic and conversions – another key factor in SEO success.
Conclusion: Make Accessibility a Priority
Ensuring that your website is accessible isn’t just about meeting legal requirements or enhancing SEO – it’s about creating a more inclusive internet for all users. By following the WCAG guidelines and implementing accessibility best practices, you’ll not only improve the experience for disabled users but also benefit from better search rankings, higher engagement, and an expanded audience.
At Top Results Agency, we specialise in building accessible, user-friendly websites that comply with the latest WCAG standards. Whether you’re revamping an existing site or starting from scratch, our team can ensure that your website is accessible to everyone, helping you tap into a broader audience while improving SEO performance.
