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Saturday, January 4, 2020

Make These Changes to Meet Web Design Accessibility Standards

Credit:https://designmodo.com/web-design-accessibility/

Design is a crucial component of any website or app, all too often we see organizations get carried away with the aesthetics and see accessibility as a small focus, when in fact, there are a lot of features that need to be considered! Especially with 1 in 5 people in the UK being considered as having some sort of disability.

What is Accessibility?

Accessibility is the design of products, devices, or services that can be used by as many people as possible. This includes those with disabilities, such as impaired vision, motor difficulties, learning difficulties, or deafness.

This means much more than simplifying the design. Creating a platform that is accessible means considering all aspects and ensuring that your brand is adaptable to those who need it. Making all functions including your content, design, navigation, and layout flexible is key in creating an accessible platform.

Why is accessibility important in the public sector?

Public sector organizations (government-operated services) are affected by regulations, as these essential services need to be available to anyone, including those with disabilities. In the case of some services, the people who need them most may find it difficult to access online or through an app.

Pros of accessibility

The main advantage of successfully designing an accessible platform is making your app or website available to all, but there are many other benefits.

1.Avoid discrimination: If your website or app has been developed to assist everyone, then you have created a platform that does not discriminate. Most businesses do not deliberately discriminate against individuals, but some organizations simply focus on visuals rather than fundamentals. This is crucially important for public sector organizations. By concentrating on the design, they can exclude specific functions or methods of communication vital to ensure access for some groups of people. Creating a platform that not only meets regulations, but is also adaptable to meet everyone’s needs, will avoid discrimination.

2.Brand reputation: An accessible website or app can boost your brand’s reputation because it will appeal to wider audiences, which will end up driving more traffic. Likewise, accessibility can make you stand out from competitors as it demonstrates that you accommodate all users. This can be a beneficial marketing tool for your organization.

3.General usability: By having an accessible platform, you are increasing usability for ALL users. In the process of developing an accessible design strategy, you will discover usability problems that you may have not known about initially. It will also benefit those who access your content via mobile, as well as older and technologically inexperienced audiences who may struggle with online pubic sector services. It’s these users who will look to adapt features on your platform to make it easier to use.More