🔒Is your website accessible? Here’s why it matters.

In April, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) required all state and local websites to be accessible, along with their mobile applications.

This is excellent news, particularly for the one in four Americans with a disability. The bad news is, according to Nucleus Research, 70% of websites in the government, news and e-commerce categories are inaccessible, so many government agencies will be scrambling to become compliant.

But accessibility isn’t only important for government websites and apps. Businesses of every industry (and size) should understand the implications that an inaccessible website has on its users, and their business.

What exactly is web accessibility?

In short, an accessible website means it can be used by anyone and everyone.

Let’s look at two quick examples:

If a vision-impaired visitor uses a screen reader to access web content, an accessible website will integrate seamlessly with it. For hearing-impaired visitors, an accessible website will include an option for closed captions on any videos.

These are just two of many technical requirements of accessibility.

Accessibility standards are set by the international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and have three tiers of compliance: A, AA and AAA. A represents the bare minimum, AA is the minimum recommended level, and AAA is the best-in-class compliance.

The aforementioned DOJ ruling requires AA compliance (with some exceptions).

One of the most important and common accessibility issues is color contrast. To make sure content is readable for users with vision impairments, text and imagery must have sufficient contrast.

For example, if you had white text on a light yellow background, it would probably be hard to read. White against black would be much easier.

In addition to vision impairments, users may also have auditory impairments, motor and mobility issues, neurological conditions such as epilepsy or cerebral palsy, or cognitive and learning disabilities like dyslexia. Each has its own unique set of accessibility needs.

How accessibility helps your website visitors

Accessible websites eliminate errors, delays and frustrations for users with disabilities. But it will bring your business benefits, too.

Accessible websites:

Ensure all users can access your content. This will keep visitors on your site longer — and more importantly, if your site includes e-commerce, it will ensure visitors can complete their purchase and not have to abandon their cart due to technical difficulties.

Improve your SEO. Google knows all — and if your site isn’t accessible, it’ll push you down in search results. Google wants searchers to have the best experience possible, so they’ll promote sites that provide optimal usability.

Prevent you from getting sued. Thousands of lawsuits are filed each year in the U.S. against non-compliant website owners. This number is expected to rise as accessibility becomes a standard requirement. Initial fines start at $55,000, so these penalties are steep.

How to get started

There are a few free web tools to check your site’s accessibility, including browser extensions that allow you to find errors with a single click. This is a great place to start.

You may also want to ask your web development team to run a full audit of your website and make any necessary adjustments to bring your site up to AA standards.

You should evaluate your entire website, social media, mobile apps, documents and forms to ensure they’re all Americans with Disabilities Act compliant.

Your efforts will not only make life easier for your website visitors, but will benefit your business, too.

Lisa Wright owns Reify Creative, a Connecticut-based digital marketing agency.