The Importance of Accessibility in Digital Marketing

According to the CDC, more than 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. have some kind of disability. That’s more than 70 million people in the U.S. alone who are living with a disability. Is your organization’s digital content accessible to this huge swath of the population?

What Is Accessibility in Digital Marketing?

Digital accessibility means designing and developing digital content and experiences that are usable by people with disabilities. Inclusive marketing ensures that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can access and interact with your website, apps, and other digital assets.

Why Accessibility Matters in Digital Marketing

Making your web content accessible matters first and foremost because it’s the right thing to do. For people with disabilities, inaccessible websites can limit access to information of all kinds, increasing what disability activists and researchers call the digital divide.

By designing accessible web pages and other assets, you’ll simultaneously expand your brand’s reach while also demonstrating your organization’s commitment to inclusivity. Making your content accessible greatly expands your potential customer base, while digital accessibility best practices also benefit usability and engagement for all users.

Finally, making your web pages inclusive for all users can also improve your website’s SEO and your ability to generate leads.

If all of the compelling reasons above weren’t enough to convince you to prioritize accessibility — under the ADA, it’s also the law.

Accessibility and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities in federally funded programs and require federal agencies to use accessible technology.

Under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), courts have ruled that websites and applications can be considered places of public accommodation.

The Department of Justice has affirmed this interpretation, confirming that the ADA applies to websites. As a result, suing website owners for violations of public accommodations has been on the rise in recent years.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), provide a universal standard for making websites accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities.

WCAG acts as an international standard for digital accessibility, and aligns with many accessibility laws and regulations worldwide, including the ADA in the United States.

The Risks of Inaccessibility

Digital inaccessibility can have significant consequences for businesses, individuals, and society as a whole. Here are some of the key risks:

• Businesses and organizations that fail to comply with accessibility laws, such as the ADA in the United States, can face hefty fines and lawsuits.
• Inaccessible websites can deter potential customers, leading to lost sales and revenue.

• Businesses with inaccessible websites can suffer from negative publicity and damage to their brand reputation.
• Customers may lose trust in brands that are perceived as discriminatory or uncaring.

• Businesses that prioritize accessibility have a competitive advantage over those that do not. Digital accessibility broadens your audience.

• Inaccessible websites contribute to the digital divide, excluding individuals with disabilities from participating fully in society.

• Inaccessible websites are a form of discrimination against people with disabilities. Businesses and organizations have an ethical obligation to ensure that their products and services are accessible to everyone.

By designing web pages for accessibility, organizations can mitigate these risks and create a more inclusive and equitable online environment.

Key Accessibility Best Practices for Digital Marketers

Here are some key practices for creating digitally accessible content.

• Website Accessibility: Make sure your web pages are easy to see and understand, even for users with visual impairments. This means using readable fonts, high contrast, and ensuring your content is navigable via keyboard.
• Content Accessibility: Your content should be clear and easy to follow. Avoid jargon or complex language. Employ alt text, headings/subtitles, and descriptive link text appropriately.
• Email Accessibility: Ensure your emails have plain text options, larger fonts, and accessible HTML design.
• Ease of Navigation: All of your digital content should be simple to navigate on different devices, including assistive technologies like screen readers.

By following WCAG guidelines and conducting thorough testing, you can ensure your website is accessible to all users.

Examples of Brands Excelling in Digital Accessibility

The good news is, you won’t be reinventing the wheel when you design and develop for accessibility. Here are some examples of brands who have served as pioneers when it comes to digital inclusivity.

Apple: A Leader in Accessible Design

Apple engineers have been at the forefront of accessibility innovation since the company’s inception. They are renowned for pioneering features like VoiceOver and Braille display, and are widely considered industry leaders in integrating accessibility into all their pro ducts.

In addition to their products, Apple’s website demonstrates the potential for accessible design. It features text magnification, point-and-spread functionality, customizable display settings, VoiceOver for screen reading, and Siri integration for voice commands. These features allow users to navigate the website easily and independently.

By prioritizing accessibility, Apple has created products and assets that are more inclusive and easier to use for a wider range of customers. Apple’s dedication to accessibility has led to the development of innovative features and technologies that benefit not only people with disabilities, but also the general population.

The NHS’s Web Accessibility Overhaul

In 2016, the British National Health Service (NHS) launched a major digital transformation to modernize its online platforms. The existing NHS Digital websites, covering over 400 services, were criticized for being inaccessible and inconsistent. The information was difficult to locate due to poor navigation, excessive text, and overly technical language.

The NHS redesigned its website to enhance user experience by:

• Simplifying the written content
• Streamlining the interface
• Reducing the number of PDFs from 12,000 to a few hundred
• Removing banner ads

These changes resulted in a significant increase in accessibility, with the percentage of pages meeting the highest level of WCAG (AAA) rising from 53% to 98%. Consequently, daily website usage increased from 15,000 to 26,000 users.

The ACLU’s Commitment to Digital Accessibility

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) website is a model in accessible design. It incorporates text-to-speech capabilities and offers a user-friendly interface that’s easy to navigate with assistive technologies. The site also offers keyboard user navigation, giving users an alternative to using the mouse.

By highlighting the need for digital accessibility on the site itself, the ACLU shows how their commitment to inclusive design aligns with the organization’s overall goals. The website specifies how users can give constructive criticism specifically regarding the site’s accessibility. This is an example of how prioritizing digital accessibility can amplify your organization’s mission and brand identity while also reaching a wider audience.

Common Accessibility Mistakes in Digital Marketing and How to Avoid Them

Accessibility in digital marketing is crucial for ensuring that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can access and use your content. This includes considering factors like color contrast, alternative text for images, and keyboard navigation.

Here are some common mistakes and how to avoid them:

1. Ignoring Low-Vision Users

• Mistake: Using low-contrast text/designs or small font sizes.
• Solution: Ensure text has sufficient contrast against the background and use a minimum font size of 14px.

2. Neglecting Color Blindness

• Mistake: Relying solely on color to convey information.
• Solution: Use color in combination with other visual cues, like shapes or symbols, to provide redundancy.

3. Forgetting Keyboard-Only Navigation

• Mistake: Making it difficult or impossible to navigate your website using just a keyboard.
• Solution: Ensure all elements, including links, buttons, and form fields, are keyboard-focusable and have clear focus indicators.

4. Overlooking Screen Reader Compatibility

• Mistake: Using image-based menus or navigation without providing alternative text (alt text).
• Solution: Use descriptive alt text for all images and provide clear headings and labels for elements that are not visually obvious.

5. Ignoring Audio and Video Accessibility

• Mistake: Failing to provide captions or transcripts for audio and video content.
• Solution: Provide closed captions for all audio and video content and offer transcripts for those who prefer to read.

6. Not Considering Mobile Accessibility

• Mistake: Designing websites that are difficult to use on mobile devices.
• Solution: Ensure your website is responsive and touch-friendly. Use clear and concise language and avoid cluttered layouts.

7. Failing to Test with Assistive Technologies

• Mistake: Assuming your website is accessible without testing it with assistive technologies.
• Solution: Test your website with screen readers, screen magnifiers, and other assistive technologies to identify and address any issues.

8. Overlooking Cognitive Accessibility

• Mistake: Using complex language or confusing layouts.
• Solution: Use clear and simple language, avoid jargon, and provide a logical structure for your content.

9. Neglecting PDFs

• Mistake: Sharing PDF files that are not accessible.
• Solution: Ensure that PDFs are as accessible as your site’s content. Consider using a remediation service, such as Big Sea’s client Braille Works — a company that provides not only print materials but digital materials for visually-impaired users.

By avoiding these common mistakes and following best practices for accessibility, you can ensure that your digital marketing efforts are inclusive and reach a wider audience.

Tools and Resources to Improve Accessibility

To improve the accessibility of your digital content, you’ll first need to audit and test your assets against current standards. The following tools can help you audit your web pages and create more inclusive and accessible digital content.

Wave

The WAVE Evaluation Tool is a browser extension that helps developers and content creators assess the accessibility of web pages. It provides real-time feedback on potential accessibility issues, making it easier to identify and address them. Use WAVE to scan your web pages for WCAG compliance and receive recommendations and tips for improving your site’s accessibility. Here are some features:

• Overlays visual indicators on web pages, highlighting elements that may pose accessibility challenges.
• Generates detailed reports that list specific accessibility issues, their severity levels, and recommendations for improvement
• Includes a built-in contrast checker to ensure that text and background colors are sufficiently different for users with visual impairments
• Available as a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera
• Allows you to evaluate how well your website can be navigated using only a keyboard, which is essential for users with motor disabilities

Axe

Axe is a powerful web accessibility testing tool that helps developers and content creators identify and address potential accessibility issues in their websites. Here are some features:

• Available as a browser extension, a command-line interface (CLI), and a library for integration into development workflows
• Automatically scans web pages for accessibility violations, providing detailed reports on issues found
• Uses a customizable rule engine that allows you to define your own accessibility criteria and prioritize issues based on your specific needs
• Axe can be integrated into various development tools and workflows, including popular testing frameworks like Jest and Cypress
• Supports multiple accessibility guidelines, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and Section 508

Google Lighthouse

Google Lighthouse is an open-source, automated tool for improving the quality of web pages. While Lighthouse can help improve various aspects of your website (providing insights into a page’s performance, best practices, SEO, and Progressive Web App (PWA) compatibility), one key area Lighthouse can optimize is your site’s accessibility. Here are some features:

• Identifies potential accessibility issues and offers suggestions for improvement
• Provides a numerical score to assess overall accessibility
• Can be used to analyze a web page’s accessibility during development or after it’s published

ChromeVox

ChromeVox is a screen reader extension for Google Chrome designed for visually impaired users. It reads web content aloud and provides navigation assistance. Use ChromeVox to understand for yourself how your digital content is experienced by users who rely on a screen reader. Using this tool, try navigating your website solely with your keyboard to assess its accessibility for visually impaired users.

The Future of Accessibility in Digital Marketing

As technology continues to evolve and the digital landscape expands, the need for inclusive online experiences becomes increasingly urgent. Fortunately, as the digital landscape evolves, tools and technologies that can help you create accessible online experiences evolve as well.

Here are some emerging trends to watch out for:

AI-Driven & Machine Learning Accessibility Solutions

• Automated Testing: Advanced AI algorithms will streamline the process of identifying and rectifying accessibility issues, making it more efficient and cost-effective.
• Personalized Experiences: AI can analyze user behavior and preferences to tailor digital experiences to individual needs, including those with disabilities.

Further Integration of Assistive Technologies

• Seamless Integration: Assistive technologies, such as screen readers and speech-to-text software, will become more seamlessly integrated into digital platforms, providing a smoother user experience.
• Customization: Users will have greater control over customizing assistive technologies to meet their specific needs.

Legal and Regulatory Developments

• Global Harmonization: Efforts will continue to harmonize accessibility laws and regulations across different jurisdictions, reducing compliance burdens for businesses operating globally.
• Enforcement: Stricter enforcement of accessibility laws will incentivize businesses to prioritize inclusivity.

Improve Your Accessibility with Big Sea

Is your digital marketing strategy accessible? Contact us today to audit and enhance your accessibility practices and make your brand truly inclusive!