Today, besides being a tool for communication, websites are used for business, commerce, and learning. But for millions of people with disabilities, it is still a closed world on the Internet or many websites.
What is ADA Compliance?
Indeed, the philosophy behind the Act started with an accessible environment in the physical sense but has gone into cyberspace. ADA Compliant Website Design refers to the process of ensuring that the websites that are built deliver the content in a form. It can be easily understood by a person who has one or more types of disabilities that might range from visual impairment to hearing loss, learning disabilities. It happens even to those who are unable to physically manipulate objects such as a mouse.
Benefits of ADA Compliant Website Design
Although it is necessary to follow ADA rules and regulations in many cases, the success goes beyond just preventing legal claims. An accessible website improves user experience and tends to produce better results in terms of satisfaction, level of engagement and the size of the audience. In addition, search engines prefer sites that are accessible, which may improve your website’s SEO positioning.
Features of Web Accessibility for ADA Compliant Website
To create a website that is accessible to everyone, it’s essential to focus on several key design elements:
- Text Alternatives for Non-Text Content:
Multimedia objects such as images and videos should have alt text descriptions. This enables other helpers such as the screen readers to relay the content to the visually handicapped users. As for videos, make a transcript and subtitles so the user with hearing difficulties will be able to comprehend the content.
- Keyboard Navigation:
Some users who may have motor disabilities may only be able to use his keyboard rather than a mouse to browse through a website. It is essential to make sure that the user is able to fully and easily surf the site without a mouse. Pay attention to the possibility to use shortcut keys and make sure that every link or button placed on the site is reachable.
- Consistent and Clear Structure:
One of the most important procedures that should be followed when developing a website is the proper categorization and arrangement of the content. Follow the correct HTML formatting when applying headings, lists, or any navigation menus. This assists the screen reader to read out the content properly and enables the users to move around your site easily.
- Color Contrast and Readability:
A contrast between the background and the text enhances readability for visitors with eye issues by simplifying text selection. WCAG says that the contrast should be at least four, however, the optimal one is considered to be four and above. Most are 5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for incremented text. Also, do not use colour as the sole means of communication because this is undesirable for Color Blind users.
- Responsive Design:
It concerns all devices, which means that the site created based on ADA Compliant Website Design should work properly not only on different-computer settings but also on the tablets and phones. A responsive design helps ensure that your content changes favourably and proportionately when displayed on other devices while preserving accessibility.
Conclusion
In simple terms, you should be able to make ADA Compliant Website Design accessible to everyone, including those with a disability. Ensuring web accessibility from the design aspect not only ensures that you meet the requirements of the legal requirements but also show the side of the company that cares for incorporation. An accessible website benefits the business, improving its usability for the end-users as well as making the Internet experience fair for all.