In today’s digital world, it’s important to make your website accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. Is important. It’s not just a legal requirement or an ethical responsibility; it can also give you a competitive edge. 

Guide Overview

Introduction to Website Accessibility

Key Accessibility Features for Websites

Strategies for Implementing Accessibility

Collaboration and Support

Making accessibility changes can boost your site’s traffic and improve your search engine optimization (SEO). This shift can turn accessibility from just a compliance task into a strong driver for growth.

How Accessibility Improvements Can Increase Growth

Accessibility improvements help users with disabilities, such as vision impairment, hearing loss, and motor difficulties. These improvements help customers access your content, buy your products, and subscribe to your services. When you make the user experience better for everyone, you can reach more people and attract new customers. This can lead to more site traffic and higher conversion rates. Moreover, many accessibility adjustments make your website more understandable and navigable for search engines, thus improving your SEO.

We present 18 important accessibility changes. These changes are not just small adjustments; they help many users find their way around the internet. They also tell search engines that your website is an important place online.

1. Alt Text for Images

Including alternative (alt) text for images is crucial for users who utilize screen readers.Alt text should clearly describe what the image shows and what it is used for. Text is important for SEO because it helps search engines understand what an image shows. This improves how relevant your content is and increases its chances of being found in image search results.

2. Transcripts for Audio and Video

Transcripts for multimedia content help people who are deaf or hard of hearing access information more easily. These transcripts also serve as rich, keyword-dense content for search engines to index, significantly enhancing your site’s SEO.

3. Accessible Navigation

A website’s navigation should be easy for everyone to use, including those who navigate with keyboards or screen readers. Use clear menu structures and a logical tab order to make the site simple to navigate. Improving user experience helps search engines understand your website better. This can lead to better indexing.

4. Readable Fonts and Sufficient Contrast

Text readability is essential for users with visual impairments. Fonts should be simple, scalable, and with high contrast against their background. Improved readability reduces bounce rates, encouraging users to spend more time on your site—a positive signal to search engines.

5. Use of Headers for Structuring Content

Using header tags (H1, H2, H3) helps organize content for screen readers and creates a clear structure for search engines. This practice improves your website’s SEO.

6. Accessible Forms

Forms should be designed with clear labels, error indicators, and instructions to ensure they are usable for everyone. Accessible forms can enhance user engagement and conversions, which are indicators of a quality website to search engines.

7. Link Descriptions

Use clear and descriptive link text instead of phrases like “click here.” This helps users with screen readers understand where the link will take them or what action it will take. It also improves your site’s SEO by providing a better context for the links.

8. Consistent Navigation

A clear and consistent navigation system helps users easily learn and remember how to move around your site. This reduces frustration and keeps visitors from leaving quickly. For SEO, consistency in navigation aids in efficient site crawling and indexation.

9. Table Captions and Summaries

Descriptive captions and summaries for data tables help users understand what the tables are about without needing to look at them directly. This descriptive text is also valuable content for search engines.

10. Error Identification and Suggestions

Identifying form errors and providing suggestions for correction improve the user experience and can lead to higher conversion rates, positively affecting SEO.

11. Language Identification

Specifying the language of your webpage helps screen readers articulate text correctly and allows search engines to serve your content to users in the correct language, enhancing user experience and content relevancy.

12. Skip Links

Skip links allow keyboard navigators to bypass repetitive content, directly enhancing accessibility. While it doesn’t directly affect SEO, a positive user experience is important for keeping users on your site.

13. Simple and Predictable Layout

A logical and consistent site layout aids users, especially those with cognitive disabilities, in understanding and navigating your content. This organization also makes it easier for search engines to crawl your site.

14. Semantic HTML

Using HTML correctly makes your website easier to use. Semantic HTML organizes your content clearly, helping both users and search engines understand it better. This can improve how well your site ranks in search results.

15. ARIA Landmarks

ARIA landmarks identify regions of a page (e.g., navigation, main content), making it quicker for screen reader users to navigate and improving the comprehensibility of your site structure for search engines.

16. Mobile Responsiveness

A responsive design makes your website easy to access on any device. This is important for users and helps improve your search engine ranking, especially after the mobile-first indexing update.

17. Page Loading Speed

Optimizing for faster loading times impacts accessibility positively by reducing wait times for users with slow internet connections, a known ranking factor for SEO.

18. Dynamic Content Updates

Ensuring dynamically updated content is accessible to screen readers and indexed by search engines can expand your content’s reach and engagement.

Strategy for Implementation

Begin with an Accessibility Audit: The first step is to understand where your site currently stands in terms of accessibility. Use tools and consult with professionals to identify areas needing improvement.

Prioritize Based on Impact: Consider which changes will most significantly affect your user experience and SEO, and tackle those first. This prioritization ensures efficient resource use for the highest return.

Educate and Train Your Team: Accessibility should be a shared responsibility across your organization. Training your team on accessibility principles and best practices ensures sustained commitment and compliance.

Monitor and Iterate: Accessibility is an ongoing effort, not just a one-time task. Regularly check your site for new issues and be ready to adapt to new technologies and guidelines.

The Final Word

Accessibility isn’t a feature—it’s a fundamental aspect of a user-friendly and future-proof website. By adopting these 18 accessibility changes, you’re not just committing to an ethical stance; you’re steering your site towards broader horizons, inviting traffic from a diverse user base and the ever-discerning eye of search engines.

Start your journey toward a more inclusive digital future with Genbe Technology. Make your website more than just a presence; turn it into an engaging space that attracts visitors. Begin with a full accessibility audit from Genbe Technology. Focus on key changes based on expert recommendations. This will help create an accessible approach that improves user experience and raises your SEO rankings.

Join us at Genbe Technology in embracing website accessibility as compliance and as a cornerstone of your digital strategy. Contact us today to learn how we can help you improve your website. We can make it user-friendly and accessible for everyone, including search engines. Transform your site into a platform that stands out in the digital world.

Start your journey to a better and more inclusive website with Genbe Technology. Here, technology and accessibility come together.

Make a Difference:

Visit Genbe Technology to schedule your accessibility audit and consultation. Let’s work together to make the web accessible to everyone!