The most apparent benefit of digital accessibility is that it enables persons with disabilities to get access to information, commodities, and services on a website. The advantages of digital accessibility, however, go beyond supporting persons with impairments. Some of these benefits may surprise you.
Knowing the benefits of digital accessibility for your organization, employees, and consumers will help your business and teach you more about the world and how you can change it. Please get in touch with the QualityLogic team if you want assistance with your content.
They feel that accessibility is a human right and aim to ensure that, in the future, all businesses adhere to such standards. When you work with them, they will analyze your website to see what is lacking and then collaborate with you to develop a game plan. Their staff will work with yours to guide and coach you all in the right way.
As you read, you’ll learn numerous compelling reasons why you should seek their advice, even if you only want to start with their starting package.
Preventing Potential Problems and Discrimination
As the internet and other digital technologies grow increasingly widespread in daily life, it’s simple to argue that persons with impairments should be able to utilize them. People with disabilities, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act, should have equal access to public services and “places of public accommodation,” such as restaurants, movie theaters, and schools (ADA).
Despite the fact that the ADA does not address digital accessibility directly, the Act is ambiguous enough that it is often thought to extend to the digital domain. The United States Department of Justice has ruled that certain court proceedings utilizing difficult-to-use websites may have violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
To avoid discrimination accusations and litigation, businesses should implement Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and other digital accessibility standards (WCAG). They may also receive a letter saying that their website was examined and that reasonable improvements were made to make it accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Your Company’s Name and Products Become Well-Known
Impaired hearing, vision, mobility, and thinking are just a few instances of disabilities. One out of every four American adults is disabled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Improving the usability of your website is a smart business decision. Although creating a website that everyone can use is difficult, a few simple tweaks may make it much easier for persons with impairments to visit your site. Transcripts and closed captions, mobile device compatibility, and a clean, straightforward design will also benefit all users, not just those with impairments.
People’s Attitudes Toward Your Company Can Improve
Digital accessibility benefits people with disabilities, those who assist them, and others who care about them. Advocating for digital accessibility may help your company’s reputation. People with disabilities are more likely to share a positive experience with your firm with their family, friends, and social media connections.
Creating an accessibility statement is a great method to draw attention to your website. This paper demonstrates your commitment to digital accessibility and the steps you’ve taken to guarantee that people with disabilities can access your site, such as conforming to WCAG standards.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is Becoming Better
An accessible website is easier to use for clients and improves SEO, making it easier to locate. SEO drives more traffic to your website by improving its rating in search engines like Google. Despite the fact that Google’s ranking algorithm is never ultimately released, practically all digital marketers agree on the fundamentals of SEO.
Most of the time, SEO goals and digital accessibility goals are in harmony. Websites with simpler interfaces can help visually impaired users and reduce the number of visitors who abandon the site.
Consider how both SEO and digital accessibility demand closed captions and transcripts for your content. According to digital accessibility standards such as WCAG, text versions of the video and audio recordings must be made available to everyone, including individuals with impairments.
Because Google and other search engines are primarily concerned with text, they will be unable to find a voice in your video and audio recordings. Closed captions and transcripts help SEO by including language that Google and other search engines can comprehend and index. This facilitates the discovery of relevant material on your website.
Items Have Been Simplified
Usability and digital access are inextricably linked, just as SEO and digital access are. Accessibility is all about making things, locations, and services more accessible to individuals with disabilities. As a result, accessibility is associated with or overlaps with the notion of usability, which is concerned with making a product or service more user-friendly and useful.
In order to be useful and navigable, websites, for example, must comply with digital accessibility standards such as WCAG. More people will visit if your website is straightforward to use with a keyboard. If this condition is satisfied, your website’s navigational components are structured so that all users may quickly locate what they’re searching for.
More digital accessibility ideas would make your website more user-friendly overall. Those with sluggish Internet connections can view content before it fully loads by employing alternative text for images and other page components. Anyone, especially individuals with cognitive disabilities or who use English as a second language, can benefit from a dictionary of acronyms, uncommon phrases, and technical terminology.
Enhances Code Reliability
Better code will help your website in a variety of ways, including improved user experience, fewer bugs, and faster site loading. This will assist your SEO ranking as well. Investing in accessibility is thus an investment in your organization’s and code base’s future.
This may be the most concerning aspect, especially if your IT department is tiny or if you are the IT department. It is vital to contact a digital accessibility team, such as QualityLogic, in this scenario. We can help you continue or start your path toward full accessibility. Whatever you require, we are here to help.
Conclusion
One of the most widespread misunderstandings regarding digital accessibility is that it is solely beneficial to the disabled. As we highlighted in this post, digital accessibility may assist you in gaining more consumers, improving how people perceive your organization, climbing search engine ranks, and making your website easier to use. All of these are important business benefits that also help with website discovery.
Many of the steps you may take to make your website more accessible assist people who aren’t blind. You must be knowledgeable about digital technologies. QualityLogic provides all of these tools and more. Click here to read more about their digital accessibility strategy, which will give you more confidence in using them. Keep an eye on the development of your brand and clientele.