How do you design web pages for low vision and color blindness?

1 Use contrast and color wisely

Contrast is essential for helping people distinguish between text and background, icons and buttons, and other elements on a web page. Low contrast can make web pages hard to read, particularly for those with low vision or color blindness. To use contrast wisely, you should abide by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for minimum contrast ratios between text and background colors. You can utilize online tools like WebAIM's Contrast Checker to test your colors. Additionally, avoid using color alone to convey meaning or information, such as in graphs, charts, or links; instead, use other cues like labels, patterns, or icons to supplement color. It's also good practice to provide a way for users to change the color scheme of your web page - such as a dark mode or high contrast mode - using CSS media queries or JavaScript to detect the user's preferences and apply the appropriate styles.

2 Choose readable fonts and text sizes

Fonts and text sizes are essential for web page readability, especially for those with low vision or color blindness. When selecting fonts and text sizes, opt for simple, clear, and consistent fonts across your page. Avoid thin, ornate, or similar fonts. Additionally, use relative units such as ems or percentages to specify text sizes instead of absolute units like pixels or points; this allows users to adjust the text size according to their needs and preferences. Furthermore, provide a way for users to zoom in or out of your web page, such as a magnifier or a zoom control. You can also use the <meta> tag to set the viewport width and enable zooming on mobile devices.

3 Provide alternative text and captions

Alternative text and captions are text descriptions that provide equivalent information for non-text content, such as images, videos, or audio. They help people with low vision or color blindness understand the context of your web page. To provide alternative text and captions, you should use the alt attribute to add alternative text for images, describing its purpose and content. For more complex images, like graphs or diagrams, use the <figure> and <figcaption> tags to add a caption that explains the main point or message. Additionally, use the <track> tag to add captions for videos or audio that synchronize with the media and include relevant information. This will enable people with disabilities to access and understand your content.

5 Test your web pages with tools and feedback

Testing your web pages with tools and feedback is the final and essential step to ensure that your web pages are accessible and user-friendly for people with low vision or color blindness. To do this, you can use online tools, such as WAVE or Lighthouse, to check for accessibility errors, warnings, and suggestions. You can also use browser extensions like NoCoffee or Colorblindly to simulate how your web pages look to people with different types of low vision or color blindness. Additionally, you can use screen readers like NVDA or VoiceOver to listen to how your web pages sound to non-visual users. Finally, you can ask for feedback from real users with low vision or color blindness, or from experts and advocates in the field of accessibility to gain valuable insights that can help you improve your web pages.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?