How Using Semantic HTML Can Make Your Website More Accessible

Websites are the gateway to many things: fun, information, and communication. No matter where you are, a well-made website should give you a rich experience. But not all websites are created equal, and knowing the difference between best practices and poor coding can make and save you much money.

A good website should allow you to get the information you need, whether in an office, on a bus, at home, or school. Writing Semantic HTML is the best way to increase your chances of offering an optimal user experience for everyone.

What is semantic HTML, and why should I use it?

One of the main functions of HTML is to classify your website’s content. It contains tags that describe the purpose of certain content on a webpage. For example, some tags show the difference between headings ( <h1> – <h6> ) and paragraphs ( <p> ).

Semantic HTML allows browsers and other user agents to understand what belongs to what within the document. This makes it easier to analyze your content and interact with your website, which increases SEO, usability, and the overall user experience.

What is HTML5?

HTML5 is HTML’s latest version of HTML. HTML5 contains revisions to elements and attributes to make it more accessible. It also allows you to create more sophisticated and efficient websites and apps.

HTML5 first became public on January 22, 2008. After a few changes, it was added to the W3C’s list of recommendations in October 2014.

The goals of HTML5 are to improve the language by adding support for multimedia and other new features. It also makes it easy to read and consistent for computers and devices like web browsers, parsers, etc.

Why is HTML5 better than HTML4?

HTML5 has improved semantic roles that have boosted accessibility and development efficiency. Components like <Section>, <article>, <nav>, <aside>, <footer>, and <header> help you create a better site structure and limit the use of ‘div’ elements.

Also, thanks to semantic roles, aria landmark roles can be present from the start, reducing development time and improving screen reader compatibility.

HTML5 has capabilities like geolocation, offline application caching, and better web forms with text inputs, search boxes, and other fields. It also supports native audio and video without plugins like flash and Silverlight.

But the best thing about using HTML5 is that it makes it easier for people with disabilities to use your website.

20% of the world’s population, or one billion people, have some form of disability. That’s 33 times the size of the population of Texas. You can also be missing out on about 6.9 billion dollars in sales.

Conclusion

Using semantics in your HTML can impact your website’s structure and context.

If you don’t use semantics, your website will have to process more data and run slower. Search engines also might need help to figure out how certain essential parts of your website are compared to others.

Did you find this information helpful? Are you giving accessibility the priority it deserves? If you want more information on web accessibility, follow me here on LinkedIn, you can also visit my video blog to watch short videos about accessibility, usability, and user experience.