While over 252,000 websites are built daily, not all online businesses consider the accessibility factor. Website accessibility has become an international standard to help disabled people avail different online services.
WordPress aims to make the platform inclusive and accessible for people with disabilities to publish and maintain websites. In addition, the community ensures that website accessibility remains intact regardless of the user’s device or impairment. This guide will help you if you plan to develop your website on WordPress and are worried about the accessibility features.
Website Accessibility on WordPress
WordPress is still the top website building and Content Management System (CMS) platform. Apart from 1.3 billion websites on the internet, around 455 million websites use WordPress to manage content.
WordPress has the biggest market share because it allows people with no coding experience to build websites. Moreover, you can use this platform to:
- Develop websites free of cost (WordPress is open source).
- Manage content and maintain web applications.
- Use multiple themes and plug-ins for your website.
- Get expert help from the WordPress community.
But only website development is not the key. Instead, you must ensure that your website is inclusive and accessible for everyone.
WordPress is also making sure that all of its websites become WCAG 2.0 AA compliant and available for people with disabilities. That includes content on websites, applications, and other digital platforms.
However, the platform is still resolving the known issues related to accessibility. That’s why not every WordPress website is fully compliant with accessibility standards.
What is WCAG 2.0 AA Compliance?
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is an international standard that explains how to make a website accessible to the disabled population. There are three levels of WCAG:
- Level A
- Level AA (most common among online businesses)
- Level AAA
It’s important to make your website accessible for every user regardless of their disabilities. Every developer must ensure that the theme doesn’t create a communication gap between the website and a disabled user.
The goal of the technical team should be to keep everyone in the loop in the website planning phase. In addition, companies should not exclude users who are suffering from a disability by choosing a theme that doesn’t comply with WCAG 2.0 AA.
What Does Web Accessibility Include?
Web accessibility is a vast topic. It includes multiple features of a website that support the disabled community. These features assist people who have disabilities like:
- Neurological
- Cognitive
- Aural
- Visual
- Speech
- Physical
When you use different accessibility tools, those people can easily use your website without calling for external help. Website accessibility has become a legal business requirement in some countries. Therefore, the relevant authority might penalize you if your website doesn’t comply with the accessibility standards.
How to Make Your Website Accessible?
Making your website accessible is a continuous task. Therefore, you should integrate accessibility factors into your website from the beginning.
Remember that some aspects are easy to implement, while some are complex and need time to employ.
Xcompliant suggests incorporating accessibility to your website from the project’s beginning. Of course, your website can work without these features. But in the longer run, you shall have to return to the basic development and re-design some features to incorporate accessibility.
So, taking care of such aspects from the beginning saves you time and money. Now let’s have a look at 4 common methods of website accessibility.
1. Designing
The most common mistake which fails WCAG compliance is web designing. UI/UX designers focus on keeping the aesthetics cool but don’t consider website accessibility.
For example:
Contrast Ratio
The contrast ratio refers to the disparity between the foreground and background. That includes the web-page elements like:
- Text
- Images
- Buttons
The contrast ratio doesn’t apply to logos and text in an image.
According to WCAG, the “luminance contrast ratio” or simply contrast ratio of a web page should be 4.5:1 for normal texts and images. People will have readability issues if the contrast blends more or less with the background than the required ratio.
Users who struggle reading text on the screen need a clear contrast. No doubt, they can differentiate headings from the normal text, but they can’t understand a single word on the screen if you have chosen the wrong contrast ratio.
2. Development
You must guide the users completely if you want information from them. For example, if you want a user to sign-up and enter credentials, the web page must display a complete input field.
Username Field
The username field must have the label “Username” before it.
Email Field
The email field must have the label “Email” and the required format before it.
You must understand that not every user of your website is tech-savvy. Therefore, you must use the simplest approach and make your website accessible and readable for everyone.
3. Writing
You must write the exact information to convey the true message of your website.
Web-Page Name
For example, each web page must have a clear name that defines its purpose. In addition, the best practice is to name that page the same as its title, followed by your website’s name.
Denoting the web pages with the right names helps your users in navigation. They will spend less time getting what they want and eventually leave positive feedback.
Headings and Subheadings
Also, use headings and subheadings to give users an outline of the original content. Some users don’t read the whole text. Instead, they only read the headings, and if they find it helpful, they’ll continue surfing the website.
4. Evaluate Website Accessibility
There’s one more step left before you make your website completely accessible: evaluation.
Your job is incomplete before you run the website accessibility evaluation audit against the following common checklists:
- Alt Image. Alt or “alternative text” for an image tells users what’s in the empty box if the website fails to load the image. It also helps visually impaired users to identify what an image is all about.
- Video Captions. Video is important media content on your website. But it’s of no good if your users don’t understand the audio. So always add closed captions in the video on your website for the best outcome.
- Color Contrast. No reader wants extra stress on their eyes. If you have uploaded impeccable content on your website, readers might not read it because of the color contrast. So always keep a 4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Zoom In/out. Users must be able to zoom in/out of your website. Developers make a common mistake by not including this function. The zooming feature allows people with weak eyesight to read the web content without any problem.
Advantages of Accessible Website
There are many advantages to making your website accessible with Xcompliant, including:
SEO
Although website accessibility is not the core SEO ranking factor, many elements value the users and boost Google’s ranking. For example, adding the “Alt image” tag helps disabled users to understand an unloaded image. That’s a value-adding element in the eyes of Google.
PR (Public Relations)
You already know how much the world cares about the disabled community. So, if you make your website accessible to every user, many worldwide organizations might recognize you. That will boost your online PR, and you will get more online exposure. Having good PR is mandatory if you are running an online business. It creates trust between you and your clientele.
Positive User Reviews
User feedback plays an important role in making a business successful. For example, the disabled community might leave positive feedback for your efforts in making your website fully accessible for them. That will enhance your business reputation.
Consequences of Non-Compliance With Website Accessibility Standards
You might have to pay a fine if your website doesn’t comply with the ADA standard of website accessibility. ADA refers to the Americans with Disabilities Act 1990, which prohibits discrimination against any kind of disability.
In addition, the fine ranges from $55,000 – $75,000 for non-compliance with the ADA accessibility checklist. The fine increases if the audit team finds repeated missteps on your website.
Since your online business sells products and services to the world without discrimination, people with disabilities might sue your website in case of non-compliance. Why?
Because your target audience might include these people, not following the accessibility guidelines apparently means you are excluding the disabled community from buying your product or service. So it’s better to invest in a more reliable resource like Xcompliant for a completely accessible website for your business. The investment is about being compliant with the accessibility standards, after all.
Conclusion
There are over one billion disabled internet users in the world. So naturally, they expect you to build a website accessible to them, just like normal users. That’s why WordPress tries to follow the website accessibility guidelines wherever possible.
WordPress also allows developers to use accessibility features that cater to known issues. You can add those features via different themes and plug-ins and make your website compliant with the accessibility standards like WCAG 2.0 and ADA.