{"id":7703,"date":"2018-11-05T11:50:56","date_gmt":"2018-11-05T16:50:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brainstation.io\/?p=7703"},"modified":"2018-11-05T11:50:56","modified_gmt":"2018-11-05T16:50:56","slug":"5-reasons-why-your-company-should-invest-in-web-accessibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/5-reasons-why-your-company-should-invest-in-web-accessibility","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons Why Your Company Should Invest in Web Accessibility"},"content":{"rendered":"

The concept of <\/span>web accessibility<\/span><\/a> is not new, but ironically, as websites become more sophisticated, they\u2019re apt to become <\/span>less<\/span><\/i> accessible. It\u2019s no wonder, then, that as web and app development advances, the issue of <\/span>accessibility is coming to the fore<\/span><\/a>. But is it worth the investment? <\/span><\/p>\n

We spoke with accessibility consultant <\/span>Luke McGrath<\/span><\/a>, who made it clear that the answer is \u201cyes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are five reasons why your company should invest in web accessibility.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grow Your Reach<\/b><\/h2>\n

\u201cAround a fifth of people have some form of disability, ranging from severe impairment of one or more senses to minor reduction in ability,\u201d McGrath says. \u201cThe more accessible a website is, the greater the chance these users can complete the tasks they want to, whether that\u2019s joining your newsletter or buying something from your store. Simply put, web accessibility will save you lost conversions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cumulatively, inaccessible websites contribute to the \u201cdigital divide\u201d\u2014the gap between those who have access and those who don\u2019t. A recent Pew Research report found that Americans with disabilities were <\/span>three times as likely<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to say they never go online. Even after controlling for age, people with disabilities are taking up technology at lower rates. What could be discouraging them? Either it\u2019s the very real inability to get something of value out of it, or it\u2019s the perception of inability.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ways accessibility grows your reach don\u2019t stop with people living with disabilities. Sometimes, impediments lie not with people, but with the technology they\u2019re using. \u201cUsers with slow internet connections,\u201d McGrath says, \u201cand those on mobiles, and even those who are unfamiliar with the web\u2014all benefit from clear and accessible websites.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Project Your Company Values<\/b><\/h2>\n

When it comes to representation in media, we\u2019re conscious of the need to be inclusive\u2014you wouldn\u2019t want it to seem like your product is intended only for a certain type of person, right? Think of accessibility as inclusivity not in the message, but in the medium itself. <\/span><\/p>\n

As a result, the impact of your project\u2019s accessibility reaches well beyond the people who depend on that accessibility, and gives everyone who comes into contact with it the sense that your organization strives to be inclusive. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI often use the example of a candy shop,\u201d McGrath says. \u201cWould the owner ever make the door hard to open, turn the lights off, or put the candy on high shelves and take all the labels off the jars? That\u2019s effectively what an inaccessible website does. From there, it\u2019s not hard to imagine that even people who <\/span>can<\/span><\/i> buy the candy don\u2019t enjoy the process, and will soon move somewhere else. Plus, it\u2019s likely they\u2019ve heard from someone\u2014one of the 20 percent of their friends with a disability\u2014that the shop is no good. Reputations are easy to damage, and very hard to recover.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Boost Your Effectiveness<\/b><\/h2>\n

Whatever your site or app is attempting to do\u2014whether that\u2019s sell products or simply deliver content\u2014it has to be legible. That\u2019s something that affects how easy it is to navigate a site and find what you want, but also how easy it is to extract information once you find it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pale grey type on a white background may look sophisticated\u2014but you don\u2019t have to be visually impaired to find it difficult to make out. Eyestrain is real, especially when reading from a tiny screen. And while multitouch that lets users zoom in can help, it\u2019s of limited usefulness if your text doesn\u2019t reflow\u2014and no help at all to someone browsing from a desktop.<\/span><\/p>\n

Legibility doesn\u2019t end with a site\u2019s appearance, either. It\u2019s also affected by how information is organized. If your point is to convey your ideas, why not make them digestible? Keep it short! Put it in bullets! For people with learning or cognitive disabilities, this could be the difference between whether or not the information is retained. For people with no impairments, it could be the difference between whether or not they\u2019re engaged enough to keep reading.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAn accessible site helps every user,\u201d McGrath confirms. \u201cIt enforces clarity, simplicity, and ease of use. As a result, everyone can get what they want from the site regardless of ability\u2014I can\u2019t imagine why a business would restrict any user.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Stay Flexible<\/b><\/h2>\n

A website with an animated splash page designed to look spectacular at 1366 \u00d7 768 pixels is a wonderful thing to have\u2014but if it\u2019s not responsive, how\u2019s it going to look on someone\u2019s phone, where the screen ratio isn\u2019t the same? In fact, the <\/span>most popular screen resolution<\/span><\/a> today is 360 \u00d7 640 pixels\u2014which is taller than it is wide. If the way you present your content can\u2019t adapt, all your intricate design work is for naught.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, many people who don\u2019t consider themselves disabled still choose to engage with accessibility features\u2014people who prefer keystrokes to reaching for a mouse, or find laptop trackpads annoying; people in noisy areas who turn on captions to help them understand what people in a video are saying. <\/span><\/p>\n

More is not always more; rich media can look impressive, but if they depend on a specific type of interaction or display, or if they slow down your site, then many people may not be able to access them\u2014or care to. On the other hand, if your site can be accessed by a wide range of different people and technologies, odds are good it can do lots of other things as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lower Your Costs<\/b><\/h2>\n

Keeping a website responsive means constant updates. If your site is \u201cperfect\u201d but rigid, then every change you make is going mean overhauling the entire thing, which quickly gets time consuming and costly. As McGrath explains, \u201cOver-engineering a website often leads to extra expenses in maintenance costs and training time for staff, and more bugs and errors. Cut those out, and you gain back time and money\u2014two resources you can then put into building your business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On a fundamental level, baking in accessibility boosts a site\u2019s flexibility, which can improve your efficiency with everything from re-designing user interfaces, making pages responsive to different browser types and screen ratios, helping pages to communicate with off-site business solutions, and even packing in more SEO-boosting measures.<\/span><\/p>\n

But also consider the fact that the everyday use and maintenance of your site is being performed by human beings\u2014and human beings mean human error. It\u2019s one thing to lose a customer because they can\u2019t access your content. It\u2019s another to waste your employees\u2019 time because they can\u2019t decipher the code or markup they\u2019re working with. Improve legibility, and you reduce head-scratching\u2014and errors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the great things about building for accessibility is it makes you think about what you really need and the best way to implement it,\u201d McGrath says. \u201cSimplifying your interface (both back-end CMS and front-end pages) makes it easier, faster, and therefore less costly to maintain.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is web accessibility worth the investment? We spoke with accessibility consultant Luke McGrath, who made it clear the answer is yes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7704,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[586],"tags":[588,635,587],"yoast_head":"\n5 Reasons Why Your Company Should Invest in Web Accessibility | BrainStation\u00ae Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is web accessibility worth the investment? We spoke with accessibility consultant Luke McGrath, who made it clear the answer is yes. 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