02 Feb Advantages of Web Accessibility
As its name suggests, web accessibility is the process of creating online environments where all users, including people with disabilities, can interact, navigate, and engage with a website with ease. Consistent and intuitive navigation, appropriately labeled images and links, and a user-friendly design will attract more visitors and ensure they stay long enough to consume content. With that said, here are some of the advantages of web accessibility.
- Broaden your digital reach
The differently-abled make up a sizable portion of the world’s population. Creating an online domain that isn’t accessible will mean missing out on opportunities to tap into that market; they won’t engage with the digital content because they’re unable to do so. And this can result in lost sales. However, with a more accessible website design, you’ll be able to broaden your digital reach, allowing you to connect with a greater target audience.
- Avoid discrimination lawsuits
Apart from making perfect business sense, web accessibility also enables you to avoid potential lawsuits on discrimination by helping you adhere to the guidelines and rules set about by the ADA and the WCAG, to name a few. By now, every entrepreneur understands the catastrophic repercussions of having an inaccessible website. By building a site focusing on accessibility features like accurate automated transcription software and alt images, you can prevent these problems from arising in the first place.
- Enhance your SEO efforts
The core goal of Google and many other search engines is to improve the relevance of the search results they produce for the users’ queries. After all, the more precise the results are, the greater the trust and confidence people will have in the service. And the sites that comply the most with search engine optimization (SEO) practices will have a greater chance of ranking high on the SERPs or search engine results pages. So while web accessibility isn’t a ranking factor, its effects can help enhance your SEO efforts, and as a result, create more online exposure for websites.
- Offer a competitive advantage
If there’s one thing that every business has in common, it’s that they all have rivals vying for the same market. To succeed in this environment, you must have a competitive advantage. Presenting users with unique services or offering them content in different ways will help you stand out from the crowd. Web accessibility, be it directly or indirectly, can allow you to accomplish this since it sheds a more positive light on a brand.
- Improve website usability
While primarily focused on catering to those with disabilities, web accessibility accommodates all users in many ways through website usability. For example, the practices involved can eliminate bugs, reduce loading times, and clean up the site’s code. It can also enable users to interact with the web pages without using a mouse, making them more convenient to engage with.
Conclusion
As the world speeds into 2022, web accessibility is no longer a mere option but a necessity for any business to succeed, if not survive. Therefore, you must take all measures to ensure that your online domain remains accessible for everyone. It will go a long way in helping you draw in more prospective consumers and generate more revenue.