Web Accessibility

Web accessibility refers to designing and building websites so that all users, including people with disabilities, can interact with, navigate, and understand them effectively. Disabilities can range from visual, auditory, and cognitive to physical limitations. 

The goal of web accessibility is to remove these barriers and offer a seamless experience, regardless of an individual's abilities or the assistive technologies they might use.

For a digital agency like Tenet, where creating tailored web and app solutions is a core service, ensuring web accessibility isn’t just a value-added benefit—it’s crucial to providing comprehensive website development services.

Web accessibility is about creating equal opportunities online. Here’s why it matters:

1. Inclusion: Around 15% of the world has some form of disability. A website that excludes them loses a significant audience.
2. Better user experience (UX): An accessible website benefits everyone by improving ease of use, functionality, and navigation.
3. Legal compliance: Regulations like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) hold companies accountable for making their websites accessible.
4. SEO benefits: Google loves user-friendly websites, so web accessibility can also improve search engine rankings. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone—better UX for users and more visibility for your business.
5. Brand perception: An accessible website reflects positively on your brand, showcasing that you care about all users.

At the core of any accessible web design are four major principles often referred to by the acronym POUR:

Users must be able to perceive the information presented, whether through text, images, or audio. For example:

• Provide alt text for all images, so users using screen readers can understand visual content.
• Offer text alternatives for non-text content, such as videos, through captions or transcripts.

Users should be able to operate website navigation and interface components regardless of any physical limitations. Key examples include:

• Make your site fully operable through a keyboard, not just a mouse.
• Provide sufficient time for users to interact with tasks like form submissions.

The content and structure of the website should be easy to comprehend. Strategies include:

• Clear headings and labels for sections.
• Avoiding jargon and sticking to simple language, much like how Tenet approaches user-friendly designs in custom CMS development projects.

The website must work well with various assistive technologies, browsers, and devices. Your site should:

• Follow proper coding standards.
• Implement accessible infrastructure to remain functional across updates.

As a company like Tenet, specializing in product design and UX research, our belief is simple: web accessibility is foundational for superior user experience. Here’s how accessibility seamlessly integrates into UX services:

• Thorough UX research ensures identifying pain points for differently-abled audiences during the initial design phase.
• Brand research helps align accessibility goals with your overall brand goals, ensuring consistency.
• Designing accessible interactive prototypes offers real usability insights before the final product goes live.

By considering accessibility during Android app development and iOS app development processes, we ensure applications are universally usable and deliver a rich user experience.

Making your site accessible is an investment, and here’s how it pays off:

1. Increased revenue opportunities: Accessibility opens the door to more consumers, boosting sales and engagement. With Tenet’s track record of serving 300+ clients and completing over 450 projects, it’s clear that accessibility unlocks revenue possibilities for businesses.
2. Enhanced innovation: Incorporating accessibility fosters creative and unique problem-solving solutions for developers.
3. Reduced legal risks: Compliance with standards such as WCAG 2.1, ADA, or other local accessibility guidelines protects your business from costly lawsuits.

1. Use color thoughtfully: Make sure your site meets contrast guidelines to help visually impaired users.
2. Include alt text: Every image, chart, or multimedia element should have descriptive text.
3. Add ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles and attributes.
4. Caption all video and rich media content.
5. Test your site: Conduct user testing with people who rely on assistive technologies, such as screen readers or voice controls.

If you’re looking to test how accessible your website is right now, here are some tools to check out:

• Lighthouse: Built directly into Chrome, this tool scores your website’s accessibility and suggests improvements.
• WAVE Accessibility Tool: It visually highlights aspects of your site that may not meet accessibility guidelines.

Axe: An open-source tool for finding accessibility gaps in your site, which can integrate seamlessly with your development process.