Website Accessibility Checker: How to Make an Accessible Website That Drives Traffic

Website accessibility continues to drive brand success. In an era of high e-commerce competition, your website is your ticket to staying relevant in a sea of industry competitors. As brands battle for conversions, user experience has become a key performance concern – a staggering 88% of consumers now refuse to return to a site that offers them a bad experience.

So, how can we ensure every potential lead endures a positive experience with your brand? The answer is accessibility. As UX design trends evolve, so do the options to create a website accessible to all users.

Prioritizing an accessibility-first approach unlocks your content to a broader demographic and tells your audience you’re an inclusive brand. Stick with us as we delve into accessible web design trends and teach you how to balance innovation with inclusivity for a spike in user engagement. 

In a digitally dominated sales environment, over half of all online shoppers now demand a customizable user experience from their chosen brand. Whether this is in the form of personalized offers, AI-driven communication, or UX accessibility, all online brands should strive to provide an experience that keeps their leads coming back. 

One way to do this is to prioritize accessibility. Out of the 4.9 billion users across the globe who have access to the internet, over 15% of them also live with a disability. 

Users with a disability require an accessible web experience. From customizable visuals to optimized navigation systems, the sites that prioritize accessibility instantly open themselves up to a larger online audience.

As quoted by the creator of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, “It’s not just about disabled users being able to access your website — it’s about everyone being able to access your website.”

The key here is to start weaving accessibility into your innovation strategy. As you release new campaigns and continue to optimize your site for modern devices, ensure you’re considering your UX design.

If you want to design a site that drives traffic, making it an accessible place for all users is a great way to boost brand awareness. Not only will you see your click engagement rise, but users who are satisfied with a brand experience are more likely to share their reviews on their own social media platforms. 

If you want to learn more about accessible UX design, you’re in the right place. From optimizing your content for multiple devices to leveraging AI as a site-based user guide, you can make plenty of quick changes when you build a website that enhances an inclusive consumer experience.

Prioritizing accessibility in 2023 could also give you a competitive edge. A recent Forbes study found that, on average, e-commerce retailers lost an estimated $828 million in 2021 due to poor site accessibility. While this impacted retailer revenue, the study also found that lack of site access affected a company’s SEO ranking, brand image, and inclusive reputation.

Those who prioritize an inclusive user experience are likelier to see their company rise amongst industry competitors. The question is, how do you create a site that drives inclusive traffic? Here are three steps you can take to ensure your website performs well for all users in 2023. 

Taking an accessibility-first approach is all about creating a site accessible to all online users. So where better to start than optimizing your site for multiple devices?

As of 2023, 96% of online users own a mobile device, while 46% own a tablet. With more consumers than ever before tapping into the web via a smart device, it’s time to make sure your site design is up to scratch for an optimal experience. 

In 2023, a staggering 85% of online users believe that a mobile site design trumps the desktop equivalent.

Moving forward, web designers need to start thinking about device accessibility. From resizing visual content to improving tap-based haptic feedback, prioritizing your mobile experience will not only allow smart-device users to enjoy easy access to your content. Still, it could also improve your site ranking in a Google Search.

Video resources such as Premiere Pro enable you to create numerous versions of your on-site visuals for alternative devices. It’s also essential to optimize your written content for voice-activated devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google.

After Search Engine Land revealed that 50% of online searches came from voice-activated devices in 2020, adding question-based keywords into your content strategy could make your site more discoverable via voice search.

If you want to remain a front-runner within your industry niche, your site must be able to be reached via any vessel. Whether this be a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or smartwatch, cross-device design is the first step towards a more accessible future. 

Once you’ve created a site that users can access from any device, it’s time to start customizing each user’s personal experience with your brand.

Every site user is different. While some may need help to view visual or written content, many online consumers are overwhelmed by busy landing pages and complicated navigation systems.

Did you know that 70% of sales leads abandon their shopping cart based on complicated navigation systems alone? Different consumers have different levels of ability. While Gen Z digital natives may be proficient in an online landscape, some users could be complete novices or even live with a disability that impacts browsing. Therefore, your site should offer every user an online experience to suit their capabilities.  

“To ensure that a website is accessible, I suggest companies consider, at a minimum, incorporating accessibility features such as alternative text for images, captioning for videos, and keyboard-only navigation,” states Lesa Seibert, CEO of Mightily. “Additionally, conduct regular testing and evaluations to identify and address any accessibility barriers, as website updates and modifications can sometimes cause issues.”

Start by addressing your navigation system. Does it contain a simplistic flow? Can users quickly identify where they need to be on your site? Introducing a drop-down pyramid system is a great way to design a na accessible flow. If users can quickly select their destination point based on drop-down keywords, they are less likely to bounce before they reach the checkout.

Your page design also plays a significant role in site accessibility. When designing each page, keep color contrasts and content visibility in mind. If a visually impaired user wants to access your site, they should be able to customize your content to fit their individual needs. 

A great example of content customization comes from the digital marketing agency, Seer. With their accessibility adjustments tab, users can customize their site content to create their own accessible user experience.

With the ability to accommodate their needs, whether text size adjustment or even an ADHD-friendly mode, Seer is just one of many sites putting accessibility first in their 2023 design strategy.

Lastly, we can’t talk about accessible design without mentioning artificial intelligence. AI not only has the power to revolutionize accessibility but is also super easy to integrate within your site design strategy.

With the potential to detect barriers to accessibility, AI is a great helping hand for web developers that want to improve their UX design. For example, AI-generated tools can scan visual content that may be tricky to engage with for people with visual impairments and generate text-based alternatives that can describe the image for text-to-speech devices. 

Incorporating an AI helper into your site structure can aid user accessibility in real-time. From AI-powered screen readers to analyze a user’s unique needs based on their historical online interactions, AI-generated accessibility is hard to beat.

In the digital age, having an accessible website is not just an option, but a necessity. A website that is inclusive and accommodating to all users, regardless of their abilities, is not only ethically important but also legally required in many regions. To achieve website accessibility, it’s crucial to conduct regular checks and ensure your site is user-friendly for everyone. In this blog post, we’ll explore five effective ways to check website accessibility and make sure your online presence is inclusive to all.

Automated accessibility checkers are valuable tools that scan your website for potential accessibility issues. These tools use algorithms and predefined rules based on web accessibility guidelines (such as WCAG – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) to detect problems. Many of these tools are free, and all you’ll have to do is submit your website URL and the website accessibility checker will tell you exactly how closely your website adheres to WCAG. While they are helpful in identifying certain issues like missing alt text for images, improper heading structures, or form validation errors, it’s essential to remember that they have limitations. Automated tools cannot catch all accessibility problems, and manual checks are equally necessary.

Not all users can navigate websites using a mouse or a touch screen. Some individuals rely on keyboard-only navigation, especially those with motor disabilities. To check keyboard accessibility, use your website without a mouse. Ensure that all interactive elements like buttons, links, and form fields can be easily accessed and used via the keyboard alone. You should be able to navigate the entire website and perform all actions without a mouse successfully.

Screen readers are assistive technologies used by individuals with visual impairments to access and interact with digital content. To evaluate the accessibility of your website through a screen reader, you need to immerse yourself in the user experience. Install a screen reader software or browser extension and navigate through your website using it. Pay attention to the order of elements read by the screen reader, the coherence of content, and whether all information is adequately conveyed.

Low contrast between text and background colors can make it difficult for users with visual impairments to read content. Conduct a color contrast analysis using online tools to ensure that your text meets the minimum contrast ratio recommended by accessibility guidelines. Additionally, avoid using color as the sole means of conveying information, as color-blind users may not be able to discern crucial content or instructions.

Incorporating multimedia content like videos into your website can significantly enrich the user experience. However, it’s crucial to ensure that these videos are accessible to all users, including those with hearing impairments. To achieve this, provide closed captions and transcripts for all video content.

If you’re short on time or not quite sure where to start, here are five quick and easy ways to check that your website is accessible.

As we reach the halfway mark for 2023, it’s clear that accessible design still has a long way to go. While more e-commerce retailers are introducing new ways for their consumers to interact with their site and its products, many still fall victim to complicated navigation systems and inaccessible content.

“Website accessibility is becoming increasingly important in 2023 and beyond. With a growing number of people with disabilities and legal requirements to comply with, it is essential that websites are designed to be inclusive and accessible to all,” Seibert continues. “Making your website accessible can positively impact your business or organization in multiple ways now and in the future.”

Currently, those who engage in accessible design are still ahead of the curve. However, as new devices dominate the market and the online world becomes more inclusive, prioritizing accessibility will no longer be a choice but essential for any company that wants to thrive online. 

And that’s a wrap! We hope you’ve learned some handy tips on how to make your website more accessible. While you’re here, check out this blog on the top Web Design Trends for 2023 or learn How to Become a UX Designer.