What is the main purpose of creating a website for your brand? For most of you, it should be to create a medium through which you can connect to a maximum number of people and communicate your brand’s identity to the masses.
However, that isn’t possible to achieve if your website has a low accessibility score. If your content lacks inclusivity or doesn’t meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, you may fail to reach out to everyone regardless of their abilities.
That’s why having a high accessibility score is important so you can improve your content’s usability to a wide audience.
Want to learn more about this score and all the ways to increase it? Read this discourse to find the details.
Accessibility Score Explained
Accessibility score is easily defined as a metric to measure the accessibility of digital content or websites for people with disabilities. For instance, it assesses whether an article can be easily read by people with learning disabilities or hearing impairments.
Moreover, it also takes into account the ease of navigating through an application or a website. If your website lacks proper labels for navigation elements, a disabled person may find it hard to explore it in detail. As a result, you will get a low accessibility score.
Similarly, the score also considers how well your website adapts to various screen sizes and devices. This is to ensure that people with hearing or visual impairments can access your content on different platforms.
A good score can also be achieved if your content meets the WCAG compliance.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 provides a detailed framework to help you make your content readable and accessible.
But why does this score matter?
Importance of the Accessibility Score
Gone are the days when you could give anything to your digital audience on the internet and expect them to engage. Today, people look for inclusivity and accessibility.
They only approach content that truly speaks their mind and is easy to understand. That’s because no one in today’s fast-paced world has the time to unlock complicated information.
This is why we have an accessibility score. It measures the usability and readability of your content to ensure that it is read by a wider audience. Plus, it also checks whether your website complies with legal rules.
Here is why having a high score in your digital content holds power.
A High Score Empowers People With Disabilities
As per the World Health Organization, WHO, around 1.3 billion people globally have disabilities of different kinds. This is a huge population and clearly highlights the significance of making most digital platforms easily accessible. A high score reflects a practice of equal opportunity and highlights a sense of belonging to those who may have an ear or eye impairment.
Good Score Means Excellent User Experience
The score isn’t for people with disabilities but for everyone. It reflects the usability of your application or website for anyone who would like to experience it. If you offer readable fonts, quick navigation, and great contrast with your digital content, you will definitely benefit your users in one way or another.
Your website’s overall design also helps create excellent digital experiences. As a result, you provide an intuitive platform for your users so they can have a good and user-friendly time while surfing the internet.
A High Score Makes You Comply with The Law
If you want to avoid fines, ensure you comply with the laws set to help you create an accessible platform for your audience. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States lays strict rules to ensure that people with different disabilities are given equal opportunities on various platforms. The law protects them from all types of discrimination so they can be treated normally in all fields of life.
In many cases, if your digital content fails to meet accessibility standards set by the law, you may have to face legal repercussions like lawsuits and penalties. However, by continually monitoring and maintaining your score, you can avoid this risk for good.
A High Score is Good for Your Brand
You have to be very vigilant with your brand’s image these days, especially with a self-aware audience and high competition.
This is why having a high accessibility score is important. Improving the image of your brand, as you appear as an entity that prioritizes inclusivity and social responsibility over profits. And this is what people support these days!
With a high score, you not only align with the concepts of equality and fair opportunities but also distinguish yourself as a caring brand in your industry. This is a great trick to garner respect, loyalty, and love for most people in your target audience.
Also, there is a misunderstanding that having a high accessibility score is only relevant for small businesses because they struggle to catch attention. Well, that’s not true.
E-commerce platforms like Walmart and Amazon frequently assess their stores using online tools. Some of the issues they address with this practice include screen reader compatibility and color contrast. The small efforts they put into this help them cater to a broader audience.
Similarly, social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have accessibility scoring tools integrated with their systems. This is achieved to ensure that these platforms are easily accessible to users with all types of disabilities.
In fact, just a few years back, Twitter introduced the idea of automated captions to be put with images after they received accessibility feedback. Similarly, Facebook put a lot of effort into improving its content’s color contrast and adding ARIA labeling for its screen readers.
So, even if for once you thought of not taking this score as an important metric, hopefully, by now, you must be ready to change your perspective. However, how should one measure this score to know where to start?
Calculating Your Accessibility Score
There are certain steps you can take to measure your score in the right way.
- You can check your score using the WCAG guidelines. This guide covers various requirements that you can compare with your content to see if they are met. The guidelines are at various levels, helping you to meet the requirements at each stage.
- There are many tools, like an accessibility checker, designed to help you measure your content’s score. They may help you identify issues and prove a certain score. However, be sure to manually test your website for any errors.
- Chrome usually has built-in checkers to evaluate the accessibility of your content. You may want to try them first before manually checking their accessibility.
- Manual testing usually involves checking whether all the interactive elements are easily accessible by a user’s keyboard. Plus, it also helps evaluate whether the content on the screen is conveniently readable.
If you can’t go for any of the above, you can opt for a web accessibility audit. This is a detailed review of your website by experts to check whether it meets the accessibility standards or not.
Most things checked during this process include:
- Descriptions present for images and videos for the convenience of people with screen readers
- Proper functionality of the website through keyboard only
- Proper contrast is available between background and text colors
- Good use of HTML tags
- Accessibility of the website across different screen types and sizes
At the end of the audit, a proper report is initiated so you can work on the areas in which your website might be weak and require improvement.
How Much Score Should You Aim to Achieve?
So, what is a good accessibility score? A score above 85 is good. But that depends on the tool and scoring system you may opt for.
Here is a breakdown of scores and what they mean.
Suppose your website gets a score anywhere between 90 and 100. In that case, know that your content has strong accessibility, meets the guidelines set by WCAG, and is definitely inclusive. This score is what most website and digital content creators aim to achieve.
You can feel proud with a score between 80 to 90 as well. However, 85 is the ultimate score that most conscious organizations dream of getting.
A score between 70 and 79 reflects your website’s moderate accessibility. It may have some elements that support inclusivity, but it might not be 100% perfect for everyone to view.
An accessibility score below 70 isn’t a good one. This means that you have to make a lot of improvements to make your content adequate for people with visual, hearing, or motor difficulties. With this score and no urge to improve it, you may also be fined by certain organizations for not making your content inclusive.
Does This Score Come With Its Limitations?
Yes, it does. You can’t rely on the score only as it can be misleading at times. This is especially true about scores generated by automated tools.
Limitation #1- Not All Issues Are Covered
Most checkers and tools do not detect all accessibility problems. They usually take into account the major ones, leaving certain subtle issues behind. As a result, the final score fails to reflect a complete user experience.
Limitation #2- Limited Understanding of the Context
Automated tools designed to check the accessibility score don’t have an understanding of the context. The lack of contextual awareness makes it tough to know how the information is perceived and presented.
For instance, suppose an image is labeled as a dog. While a labeled image may be passed by a tool, it doesn’t really describe the true essence of the image.
Similarly, a checker may sometimes label complex language as accessible because of its high readability. However, in reality, it may be confusing for the majority to understand.
Limitation #3- Not All Tools Are Designed Equally
Checking your website for accessibility from one tool may be a different experience than evaluating it from another. That’s because each checker has its own capability, and what one may be able to detect, the other might not.
Therefore, to be safe, it is best to check your website accessibility score from various websites and then calculate an average.
Limitation #4- May Create a False Security in Mind
Great that you have achieved a high accessibility score, but that doesn’t mean you have fully complied with the accessibility rules. You shouldn’t feel secure and stop considering this as an important issue.
Accessibility isn’t a one-time task. It is an ongoing commitment that you must evaluate through regular assessments, feedback, and updates.
Limitation #5- Lack of Recognizing the Accessibility of Interactive Content
Some of the checkers fail to measure the accessibility of features like pop-ups and drop-down menus, which are often a huge struggle for people with disabilities. These tools often don’t factor them in when calculating the accessibility score. So, to make sure that you keep them involved in your score calculation, you may have to check them manually or through a thorough audit procedure.
Ways to Increase Your Accessibility Score
Suppose you have a website and you have checked its accessibility score. But unfortunately, it is low. In that case, you can follow the steps below to increase it or bring the score to an acceptable level.
Go for a Detailed Audit
Use an accessibility checker to identify issues in your website. Then, perform some manual audits as well to catch problems that your tool may not have identified.
Once you have problems in front of you, prepare strategies to resolve them. So, if there is a readability issue, you can make your context clear so it is understood by the masses.
Follow All the WCAG Guidelines
To increase your score, don’t compromise on the rules set by WCAG. Follow all the guidelines and at least focus on earning the AA level of compliance. You can do this by increasing your website’s navigation quality, adding visuals with descriptions, and auditing your website content for mistakes.
Enhance the Quality of Your Color and Text Contrast
Make sure that your digital content has a sufficient contrast between the background and text colors. This is important so that everyone can read each work with clarity.
Moreover, when making content for a large audience, don’t forget people who may have vision deficiencies. To help them out, make sure to only use accessible colors that are easy to trace.
Add a Structure to Your Digital Content
You can get a high score by giving your content some proper structure. This can be achieved by giving multiple headings to your paragraphs. You can use H1, H2, and H3 headings.
Headings within a proper hierarchy help people with disabilities navigate through each section with ease.
Give Attention to Your Multimedia Content
Great if you have solid audio and video content. But if your audience with hearing impairment won’t get what your content is about, everything would be a waste of effort.
Therefore, be sure to optimize your audio and videos with transcripts and captions that truly make sense. You can also use audio descriptions for sections that are very important.
Make Navigation Simple
Your website’s navigation should be consistent rather than abrupt. For your users’ smooth experience, you must include a search feature on your website. Additionally, elevate navigation by adding filters to make search quick and easy.
Update Your Content Regularly
Make sure to keep updating your content so it stays relevant and fresh. Add the latest statistics and ensure that the data is accessible using the latest technologies.
Once you have made changes to your website or content, reassess it to check its accessibility. This is important as you would only want to increase your score after a solid change.
Keep Monitoring and Maintaining Your Score
Once you have achieved your high score, don’t sit calmly. You will have to maintain it with regular monitoring to ensure it serves your audience well.
Use the tools and methods shared above to reassess your score every three or four months. Make it an important task to perform, especially after making new changes to your website.
Take Feedback and Make Changes
Lastly, in order to increase your accessibility score, don’t shy away from taking opinions from people who would actually be using your website. For instance, you can ask people with vision disabilities to test your application or website and share their feedback accordingly. This is a perfect way to make changes to your content’s accessibility and make it approachable for the masses.
Wrapping Up
Does your website look great but is showing a low accessibility score? If yes, you don’t have to wait for it to lose its audience. But if you don’t have any experience to handle this problem, get help from professionals.
Have you heard of Accessibility Spark?
The platform supports adherence to all WCAG and ADA standards. Plus, it takes only five minutes to implement and automate the new setup easily. What’s more, you can also get an accessibility statement and get your website’s performance certification.
Give your website the attention and time it deserves so it can easily serve its purpose for all.