Websites are central parts of many marketing campaigns. However, if people with disabilities can’t access them smoothly, you could send the wrong message and convince those people your company is not worth their business. Which best practices should you follow to make online marketing strategies maximally inclusive and user-friendly?
Incorporate Audio Descriptions
Some streaming shows and movies have audio-description tracks that detail what’s happening on screen. This content provides richer experiences for people who are blind or have low vision. Marketing professionals know that video content can be a powerful storytelling mechanism, but that is not necessarily the case for people who can’t tell what’s happening on their computer screens.
However, one consumer goods manufacturer made pioneering efforts by adding audio descriptions to all its video ads. Brand representatives also worked with a charity that supports people with sight loss, getting tips on how to do audio descriptions well.
Those involved in implementing the changes said they made the company’s video ads accessible to millions more people worldwide and prompted additional trials to make further improvements.
As you investigate similarly inclusive marketing strategies, focus on those that will make the biggest difference for the most people or that you can apply for all marketing campaigns moving forward. Additionally, get feedback from the users who will benefit from the changes and ask them what works well or needs further improvement.
Make Your Website’s Appearance More Inclusive
You’ve probably heard how people only have a few seconds to make a good first impression. The same goes for your website. Although your first instinct might be to have a lot of flashiness, movement and unusual fonts, those things could create unintentional barriers for people with disabilities.
Similarly, if there is not enough contrast between the background and text colors, some people may have trouble reading the content. Consider hiring an external consultant to review any marketing websites before they get published and provide actionable tips to make them more accessible.
Take the same approach if creating a website for the first time. Setting up a business in the United States is relatively straightforward, with the activity scoring 91.6 out of 100 for ease. However, things become more nuanced when you build websites for visitors and explore how to make them as accessible as possible.
Pay Attention to Payment-Related Features
Your website may have payment portals, shopping carts or other e-commerce features. Scrutinize those to remove any elements that could create unnecessary challenges for people with disabilities. Marketers know that anything causing friction for someone trying to purchase something could make that individual give up and not complete the transaction.
People who visit a website and conclude its designers did not make it with them in mind could feel so discouraged that they leave and never return. Conversely, if they encounter websites with thoughtful accessibility features, they’ll be more likely to spend more time at the site and return to it frequently.
A study from the United Kingdom about the accessibility of charity websites also indicated that shortcomings could result in people deciding not to donate. One of the study’s findings was that 27% of respondents said websites generally did not meet their accessibility needs. More specifically, 22% said they had difficulties navigating websites to find information, while another 18% said they could not move around the site using their keyboards. Then, nearly a quarter mentioned that the website content was overwhelming or difficult to read. The result of those combined challenges was that 49% of people said they decided not to make donations due to accessibility issues.
If your website has features that help visitors make transactions, focus on improving those first. Then, look at the content as a whole to improve its accessibility while considering many of the complaints expressed in this study.
Use Targeted Tools When Making Accessibility Improvements
Although many of the world’s websites have design issues that make them less accessible to people with disabilities, some tech professionals believe it doesn’t have to be that way. In one case, a company raised $4 million in a seed funding round for a product that facilitates the necessary code changes.
It scans a website in its current form, checking its content against accessibility best practices. The tool then automatically rewrites the site’s source code to prevent violations that could lead to lawsuits from people who find the website inaccessible.
The tool’s creators hope the product will make it easier and faster for internal web development teams to independently make the suggested changes to their websites without hiring accessibility consultants first. Consider how your company might take a similarly strategic approach to save time without sacrificing accessibility for the site’s current and future users.
Accessibility Matters for Everyone
Making your website more accessible is crucial for ensuring it’s a welcoming destination for everyone who visits it. Remember that many of the changes you make for accessibility reasons will result in improvements for everyone, especially when the content is easier to navigate and understand. Disabilities can affect people at any life stage, making website accessibility an ongoing priority and concern.
