Web Accessibility Matters
Back in November of this year I curated some content for ImageX. The topic was about web accessibility and SEO. Today I was at a shopping mall with my family. My son starting interacting, well okay playing, with the interactive digital kiosk.
My son is just about 5 years old. Standing at the screen he’s closer to the same height as a person sitting down. As he played around with it I scanned the UI. It took me just a couple seconds to spot the icon and navigation label for ‘Accessibility’.
I asked him to “touch the wheelchair”. When he did the screen’s layout changed. It was a simple transition that placed the functionality of the digital experience well within touch of someone in a mobility device, or a smaller person, like my child.
The whole event with my son lasted only a few minutes, but it really got me thinking about the accessibility of digital experiences. I spend a good deal of my time working with and thinking about digital experiences in terms of desktop, laptop and mobile devices.
There are many organizations that don’t rely too heavily on the Internet, but I think for the vast majority it directly impacts their bottom line. A really great digital experience is multifaceted. A very important aspect of this, especially from my perspective, is SEO ;). Organic search traffic is a critical source of Internet traffic for almost every business I’ve ever worked with over the years. Another very important aspect of a great digital experience is web accessibility.
Having a digital experience that is accessible to people with a disability is important for a couple of main reasons:
- It might be a requirement for even going after some kinds of business, contracts etc. Depending on what you do it’s a good idea to understand if those requirements exist when it comes to your digital experience.
- Not being web accessible could mean unnecessarily alienating potential customers and is completely like throwing money away.
If web accessibility is new to you, or you need a refresher I recommend reading this guide from conversion experts CXL. This organization is the world leader in optimization know-how. They’ve published an optimization guide to web accessibility. It’s a great place to start looking at how web accessibility can have a positive impact on your digital experience.
Don't be leaving money on the table.