Summary:
Content strategy is the backbone of business success in today’s digital world. It helps companies craft purposeful content that engages audiences, achieves goals, and builds trust, driving long-term growth
Accessibility isn’t just about following rules — it’s about making sure everyone, including people with disabilities, can easily use and understand your online content.
Whether it’s a website, email, or social media post, people need to consume your content to understand who you are and what you offer. When your content isn’t easy to access or understand, people will leave your site and probably not come back. Plus accessible content can even be required by law depending on where you operate.
Why web accessibility matters to businesses
Think of accessibility as a key that unlocks your digital doors to welcome everyone. When your content is accessible no one is left out or struggling to enter.
Bigger Audience
About 15% of people worldwide have disabilities. By making your content accessible, you’re welcoming millions more potential customers.
Better user experience:
When your content is clear and easy to navigate, everyone benefits. Accessible content and design often leads to cleaner and more intuitive digital experiences which is good UX.
Brand loyalty
When online experiences feel intuitive and easy to use, people come back and recommend them to friends, family, and colleagues. This kind of word-of-mouth can boost your website’s reputation and bring in new users. So, making things easy to use isn’t just good for accessibility — it’s also good business.
It's the law
Accessibility laws and guidelines are in place to ensure that websites, apps and digital products can be accessed and used by everyone, including people with disabilities. These laws require developers, designers and content writers to consider various needs and challenges that users with disabilities might face.
This means incorporating features like screen reader compatibility for those with visual impairments, keyboard navigation options for those who can’t use a mouse, and captions for videos to assist those with hearing impairments.
What happens if I don't make my website accessible?
When websites and digital platforms aren’t accessible, visitors with disabilities face major challenges. Things like navigating menus, filling out forms, or understanding content can become incredibly frustrating or even impossible. Limiting accessibility in this way means excluding people with disabilities from fully participating in the digital world.
We all take responsibility to advocate for, and ensure, equal access to information, services, and opportunities for everyone, regardless of ability.
Poor UX
When a website isn’t accessible, it typically performs poorly in terms of user experience (UX). Accessibility and UX are closely intertwined because accessible design principles inherently promote usability and satisfaction for all users, not just those with disabilities.
Legal ramifications
Not following accessibility rules can get you in legal trouble. Laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the US or the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) in Canada require websites and apps to be accessible. If your site doesn’t meet these standards, you could face lawsuits from individuals or groups advocating for disability rights. This could lead to fines or court orders to fix the issues. It can also hurt your reputation and make people less likely to use your services.
5 simple ways to improve your content accessibility
Accessibility goes beyond technical details like code and colors. It’s about making sure that content can be easily accessed, understood, and used by everyone. Here are some tips to get you started.
1. Use clear and simple language
- Why: Clear language makes it easy for all users, especially those with cognitive disabilities or language barriers, to understand information easily.
- Implementation: Content creators and writers should use plain language guidelines and best practices from the start of writing process. They can use readability tools to assess and improve clarity.
2. Provide alt text for images
- Why: Alt text helps blind or visually impaired users understand the content of images through screen readers.
- Implementation: Content creators should add alt text when uploading images. This can be part of a checklist used during content creation or editing.
3. Include clear headings throughout
- Why: Clear headings improve readability and navigation by organizing content into distinct sections. They help users quickly find specific information and understand the structure of the content. This is especially beneficial for users who rely on screen readers or have cognitive disabilities.
- Implementation: Content creators should use descriptive and hierarchical headings (e.g., H1, H2, H3) to organize content during the writing process. Headings should accurately reflect the content that follows. Don’t forget, there’s only one H1 on a page.
4. Use bullet points
- Why: Bullet points improve readability by breaking down information into concise, digestible points. They help users scan content more efficiently and focus on key details.
- Implementation: When presenting lists or series of items, use bullet points to highlight each point clearly. Writers should ensure bullet points are used consistently and effectively to structure content and improve its accessibility.
5. Make links descriptive and actionable
- Why: Using descriptive links improves navigation by clearly indicating where each link leads to, or what it’s about. This helps all users, especially those who use screen readers, or navigate by keyboard, to understand the purpose of the link before clicking on it.
- Implementation: To improve accessibility, writers should review and update existing content by replacing generic links like “learn more” or “click here” with descriptive links that tell the user where they’re going.
Initiating changes
If you want to make your website content more accessible and integrate accessibility into your content creation process, think about how you manage and oversee content across your organization — this is your content governance. It’s about setting clear guidelines for accessibility and training your content creators, editors, and web developers on what works best.
What about updating content that's already published?
When you want to make your existing content more accessible, having a solid content governance plan is key. By using accessibility checklists to audit your content, you can identify where improvements are needed most.
Do you need help coming up with an accessibility audit plan? I can help.
