Making Your Website More Accessible

If you want to make your website more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities, the best way to begin is by really thinking about what it would be like to experience your website as a person with a particular disability.
 
The most effective way that you can do this is by enlisting the help of people with the disability that you are trying to cater for. Alternatively, you can ask for help from professionals who have made accessible websites in the past.
 
There are a lot of simple changes that you can make to your website to make it more accessible for people with disabilities, which we’ll talk about here.

Accessibility for people with ADHD

ADHD is a condition that has a broad range of symptoms and that will affect each individual in a different way. However, there are some common symptoms that it will be helpful to cater for, which are:
 

• Being easily distracted.
• Sometimes struggling with short-term memory.
• Anxiety brought on by the need to make decisions quickly.
• Often having difficulty with following instructions.

 
If you want to make your website accessible for people with ADHD, then there are a few simple things you can do:
 

1. Adopt a clean layout that is free from distractions. The layouts used by Apple are a great example of this. This will help prevent distraction and overwhelm.
2. Intuitive website. Ensure your site is easy to navigate and that links are easy to find.
3. Clear instructions. Don’t have a form that tells the user about errors after the fact. Make it clear what is expected from the start.
4. Avoid time limitations. Don’t have a countdown to perform a particular action, as this will only lead to anxiety and stress.
5. Avoid animations. Having text or images moving around the screen will be a distraction. If you need to use them, include a way to pause them.

 
A lot of these ideas will actually make your website more user-friendly for people without ADHD, too. Clean and simple is the way forward!
 

Accessibility for people who are visually impaired

When you are designing a website for people who are visually impaired, the most important thing is to keep accessibility front of mind from the start.
 
When you are choosing your colours, try and choose colours that contrast well enough that they are easily distinguishable. When you are laying out your website, bear in mind how it will be read by a text reader. It’s also a good idea to include alt texts on your images so that they can be understood by a text reader.

Accessibility for people who are deaf or hard of hearing

The main thing to consider when creating a website that is accessible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing is adding subtitles.
 
Adding subtitles is relatively simple to do, and it adds a lot of benefits. Not only does it help people who are deaf or hard of hearing to access your content, it means that people who aren’t deaf can enjoy your content without the sound on. This is useful when they are on public transport.
 
Subtitles offer benefits like greater engagement, help understanding accents, help to learn a foreign language, and provides clarity for any brand names or technical language that you might use.