Making Your Travel Website Accessible: Why It Matters and Top Tips to Get Started
In today's digital landscape, ensuring your website is accessible is not just a necessity but a step towards inclusivity. Imagine it as building a virtual ramp, welcoming everyone, regardless of their abilities, to navigate seamlessly through the vast online terrain. Senior Director of Digital Strategy at Lemongrass, tara Schwenk, shares her top tips for making your website accessible, and why it matters.
By Tara Schwenk
Why Accessibility Matters
Accessible websites pave the way for a more equitable online experience, mirroring the inclusivity we expect in physical spaces like hotels. Shockingly, a WebAIM survey revealed that 98% of web home pages have at least one accessibility failure, highlighting the urgent need to bridge this gap.
What is Website Accessibility?
Website accessibility involves designing and developing websites to ensure individuals with disabilities can navigate and utilise them seamlessly. These disabilities may range from sight loss to cognitive limitations, and accessible websites minimise barriers that could impede users from completing tasks.
Legal Requirements and Business Benefits
National laws and regulations mandate website accessibility, underscoring its importance. Compliance not only avoids legal repercussions but also opens doors to a broader audience, enhancing consumer satisfaction and potentially boosting your website's search engine ranking.
How to Check Your Website's Accessibility
Several tools and strategies exist to assess your website's accessibility comprehensively:
Accessibility Checkers: Tools like WAVE and Axe Accessibility scan your site for potential issues and provide insights for improvement.
Automation: Utilise testing tools such as WebAIM's accessibility testing tools for efficient issue detection.
Manual Testing: Simulate user experiences with assistive technologies for firsthand insights.
Expert Guidance: Collaborate with accessibility specialists for tailored recommendations.
Strategies for Accessibility
Here are seven tried-and-true strategies to make your website accessible to everyone:
Follow Guidelines: Familiarise yourself with accessibility standards like WCAG 2.1 to ensure a user-friendly experience for all.
Optimise Contrast: Boost contrast between text and backgrounds for clarity, crucial for users with vision impairments.
Structured Content: Use descriptive headings to organise content, aiding navigation for both users and search engines.
Alt Text for Images: Add alt text to images for inclusivity and improved SEO.
Multimedia Accessibility: Provide subtitles and transcripts for multimedia content, enhancing accessibility.
Keyboard Navigation: Ensure smooth navigation using keyboard-only controls, vital for users relying on assistive technology.
Descriptive Links: Hyperlink descriptions instead of generic phrases like "click here" for clarity and context.
Conclusion
In the symphony of website accessibility, every element plays a vital role in crafting an inclusive online experience. By embracing accessibility principles, we can bridge digital divides and create a virtual environment where everyone can thrive.
So let's champion accessibility, one step at a time, and pave the way for a more equitable online future.
Thank you to Tara and the Lemongrass team for sharing their expertise with our community. If you’d like to speak to the award-winning team at Lemongrass about your digital strategy, SEO, PR and more, you can find them here.
