Easy Ways to Make Your Web Design More Accessible

Making a website accessible is an important step in ensuring that everyone can access and use the information on the site. Ensuring website accessibility is also super important as there are laws in place that obligate website owners to have systems in place that allow people with disabilities to browse through their websites with ease. Indeed, the best web design in Los Angeles is always the website that all sorts of people can enjoy.

Here are some simple ways to make your Los Angeles website design more accessible:

1. Use Descriptive Headings

   Contents

   • 1 Use Descriptive Headings
   • 2 Provide Alt Text for Images
   • 3 Add Captions and Transcripts for Videos
   • 4 Use Color Wisely
   • 5 Provide Clear and Concise Content
   • 6 Use Easy-to-Read Fonts
   • 7 Ensure the Site is Keyboard Accessible
   • 8 Make Forms Accessible
   • 9 Provide Clear and Consistent Navigation
   • 10 Test the Site for Accessibility
   • 11 Conclusion

Use headers to organize content and make it easier to navigate. Headings should be descriptive and follow a logical hierarchy—the most general terms should be the largest ones, and all more specific ones should be smaller and smaller. Headings should also be short and sweet—don’t just cram as many words in there as that would be a headache to read!

2. Provide Alt Text for Images

Alt text provides a text description of an image, which is read aloud by screen readers for people with visual impairments. Alt text should be descriptive and provide the same information as the image. Images that support your content should be explained sufficiently yet succinctly, as screen readers only read so much. If an image is purely decorative, you don’t need to add alt text.

3. Add Captions and Transcripts for Videos

Captions and transcripts provide text versions of the audio content in videos, making them accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. This allows them to understand your video even if they can’t hear what is being said. This also allows people whose first language isn’t English to understand what’s going on, especially if the people in the video have thick regional accents.

4. Use Color Wisely

Avoid using color as the only means of conveying information. For example, don’t use red text to indicate errors, as this could be difficult for people with color blindness to see. Instead, use both color and text to convey information.

Additionally, make sure that all the colors on your website are easy to see. For example, a light pink font against a white background would be extremely hard to read, even by people with no visual impairments.

5. Provide Clear and Concise Content

Use simple language and short sentences to make the content easy to understand. Avoid using jargon and technical terms that may be difficult for some people to understand. These include people with cognitive disabilities or people who don’t speak a certain language very well. The mark of a reputable and authoritative figure is explaining things in as simple of terms as possible!

6. Use Easy-to-Read Fonts

Choose a font that is easy to read, such as Arial or Verdana, and use a font size of at least 16pt to ensure that the text is legible. If you insist on using something that isn’t as legible as Arial or Verdana (like calligraphy fonts), make sure to only limit them to headings where they’re larger so they can still be easy to read.

7. Ensure the Site is Keyboard Accessible

Some people may not be able to use a mouse, so it’s important to ensure that the site can be navigated using only a keyboard. This includes ensuring that all interactive elements are accessible on the keyboard such as drop-down menus and forms. Make sure everything is clearly seen as well so people won’t have to experiment with where they’re clicking on.

8. Make Forms Accessible

Use clear and concise labels for form fields, and ensure that error messages are clear and descriptive. Consider using autocomplete to speed up the form-filling process. If applicable, try adding options so people won’t have to type everything out and leave room for error. For example, instead of having them input their birthday, have them input their birthday in a MM/DD/YYYY format so everything is nice and organized.

10. Provide Clear and Consistent Navigation

Use clear and consistent navigation menus throughout the site to make it easy to find information. A map should lead you straight to wherever you want to go, not have you drive around in circles trying to find it!

11. Test the Site for Accessibility

Use accessibility testing tools, such as the WAVE tool, to test the site for accessibility issues. This will help identify any issues that may need to be addressed. This is especially important if the website was designed by an able-bodied web designer such as Drive Traffic Media. Some of the stuff we take for granted on our websites means a lot to people with disabilities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, making your website design accessible is important to ensure that everyone can access and use the information on the site regardless of their disabilities or lack of. It improves customer satisfaction and promotes inclusivity not just in the digital world but also in society.