accessiBe Offers 3 Tips to Solve Website Compliance Issues
Web accessibility is becoming a major issue for businesses and site owners, but it has been a key concern for users for quite some time. Although accessibility guidelines are in place, many websites are still limited in terms of accessibility. Unfortunately, this means that people with disabilities are often unable to access online content, submit webforms or communicate via virtual platforms.
As high-profile legal action continues to raise awareness of web accessibility, an increasing number of businesses are now focusing on this important issue. If you want to protect your liability, take a look at these three tips to solve website compliance issues:
1. Understand the Requirements
Before you can make your website accessible, you need to know exactly what the requirements are. This means learning more about the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Americans with Disabilities Act 1990. You’ll also find plenty of online guides that break these documents down into easy-to-understand points and articles which highlight the most common accessibility areas.
Once you know exactly what the requirements are, you can determine whether your website is currently compliant or whether changes need to be made.
2. Install accessiBe
If you want to ensure your website is compliant with accessibility guidelines, installing accessiBe is probably the quickest way to do so. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), the SaaS solution enhances the accessibility and usability of any website. By incorporating the code into the HMTL of your site or installing the accessiBe plugin, you can protect your liability and increase access to your online content easily.
Although you can make manual changes to your website to improve accessibility, this can be time-consuming. In addition to this, it’s easy to overlook important accessibility issues when you make manual changes. You might add closed captioning to video content and alt tags to images but forget to check the contrast of your homepage or to facilitate the use of screen readers, for example.
By using a tool like accessiBe, however, you can ensure that every aspect of your site is optimized to maximize accessibility and protect your liability in the process.
3. Incorporate Accessibility into the Design Process
Now you know how important website accessibility is, it’s vital to ensure that it features in your subsequent plans and projects. If you’re going to redesign or update your website, for example, incorporate accessibility into the concept stage and ensure it remains a consideration throughout the process.
This will mean that accessibility remains a top priority with every change you make to your brand’s online presence. After all, accessibility regulations are likely to become more stringent in the future, so making it part of your processes now can save you time and protect your company’s professional reputation.
Why Website Accessibility Matters
Businesses are placing additional emphasis on website accessibility due to a slew of legal action brought against companies that overlooked the importance of this issue. However, adhering to accessibility regulations isn’t solely about ensuring compliance. More importantly, optimizing site accessibility ensures that all users – regardless of disability – can access your content and engage with your brand online.