How a checklist can improve accessibility?

There was so much excitement around the invention of the world wide web, an online platform everybody could go to for information, to communicate and so much more. If you don’t access the internet you risk being left behind by society. Many people accept that and actively choose to avoid it while others long to experience it and can’t. So why risk making people feel excluded and depriving them of what your online presence offers them? In doing so you would not be meeting your social responsibilities, there are legal issues surrounding accessibility and it’s bad for business. Accessible websites are easier to navigate, more intuitive and better optimised for search engines so people find it, use it and spread the word.

Despite this, reluctance remains and we can understand that, it's daunting. There’s this assumption that accessibility is terribly expensive and complicated to implement, particularly from those unfamiliar with digital accessibility. There are also concerns that it’s not visually appealing and it negatively effects the online experience of the user. None of this is true, especially with focusgov's accessibility provisions that are advanced and thorough compared to others offering seemingly similar services.

So many websites still contain barriers for people with disabilities, so how can you check your website is free of these? One appealing approach to improving your online accessibility is with the help of an accessibility checklist. Typically, a checklist is easy to use and understand and covers many of the most common problems and how to resolve them. You can find trusted checklists online or create your own. For more extensive technical information you will want to refer to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 published by the World Wide Web Consortium

A checklist is a manageable step towards bringing your website into compliance with accessibility standards. It will give you a general idea of your current level of web accessibility and help you familiarise yourself with essential components of an accessible website - really useful especially if it’s all pretty new to you.

Make sure you show consideration for various disabilities such as low vision or blindness, hearing difficulty, functional disabilities of the arm or hand. Visitors using assistive technology, visitors suffering seizures and so on. There is a lot of information out there so don’t allow this to overwhelm you, you don’t have to incorporate every bit of it in to your checklist. Anything that promotes or enhances website accessibility is worthwhile.

At focusgov, we’ve been championing accessibility for a long time and we pride ourselves on our high standards demonstrated in our work to date. We endeavour to make our websites accessible to the widest possible audience and to aim towards UK government accessibility guidelines. As strong supporters of accessibility we urge you to to put it at the forefront of your digital plan. If you think that’s something you would like our help with, please feel free to get in touch for a chat.