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Jul 19, 2024

If you're looking at the essence, accessible content can be defined by:

  1. Conceivable. All information must be presented in a way that are easily understood by users, no matter what user agents (browsers, screen readers, or some other application) they operate or what disabilities they have.
  2. Operating. Visitors need to be able to navigate around the site and use every function even if they don't utilize an ordinary mouse.
  3. Concise. Content, forms, menus, links, and various other elements of a website must be understood by users.
  4. Robust. A variety of tools, including screen readers, software for voice recognition as well as braille readers, should all be able to comprehend your content.

However, how can accessibility become an essential element of the procedure? What are the factors to consider and how do you adapt to an existing website? What tools can be used to check for accessibility on the web?

Make Accessibility a Priority

Accessible websites start with an appropriate mentality. It is crucial to bring everyone in the process - the designer as well as the owner of the business, the content manager, etc. - all on the same level.

One of the most effective ways to understand accessibility is by experimenting with the websites you love using the help of a screen reader. VoiceOver is a great option for Windows users, and VoiceOver is perfect in the case of Mac users. You can take all of the steps you normally would - search for a website or read blog posts, add a product to your shopping cart, and gain an understanding of the process in a new way.

Screenshot of Storefront, our accessible theme.

Or, if you're using the WordPress themes directory the job is already done for you; browse using the tag "Accessibility" and you'll discover a variety of choices. If you're developing your own theme and you're looking for accessibility guidelines, you can refer to the WordPress Theme Handbook has in-depth, clear accessibility guidelines to get your journey on the right track.

And, while you work through the process of building a website, test things constantly. It's much easier to adjust aspects as you go along instead of rebuilding once your site is completed!

Tools to make eCommerce accessible

It is essential to have the right tools to building an eCommerce website that is accessible. Below, you'll find some great options for testing some of them. Some are mentioned in the discussion of specific accessibility factors later in this blog post.

 Screen Reader Testing:

 General Testing of Accessibility:

 Color Checks:

 WordPress The Plugins are:

Website visitor using a braille reader tool on his computer.

How to Make Your eCommerce Website Usable

 Accessible Images

To help visually impaired customers navigate through your website's images, you need to ensure that you add alt text for each one. Screen readers make use of alt text to "read" the image (tip: Google does, too!). If you're a developer, make sure that each image element is equipped with the alt attribute. If you're a website administrator, you'll be able to use the standard WordPress function to quickly create alt texts for the images you upload.

A great place to start is by considering the purpose of your image.

 1. Does it convey straightforward information, e.g. a simple picture or icon?

If you do this, try to define your image in a way that will help your users picture it. An appropriate alt text is, "Woman pushing a stroller across the street."

 2. Does it communicate complex information, e.g. an infographic or chart?

In the case of complex images they may be difficult to describe the content in a concise way; you may require a lengthy description. There are a variety of methods to accomplish this by referring to an area on the site that has the complex image explained in greater detail. Learn more about how to handle this.

 3. Does it only serve as a decorative element, e.g. a small flower element included in the design of the website?

Make sure screen readers don't skip over ornamental elements by providing them with an empty alt attribute

In the ideal scenario, you'll at least be using images with decorative elements in the CSS instead of your HTML.

If you're inclined to insert keywords in your alt text for SEO purposes, remember that Google prioritizes user experience. It's more important to ensure that alt attributes do a good job describing your picture rather than listing keywords.

One of the most important things to remember when putting links on your site is to make sure you inform your site users what will happen when they click. Even if they read the link entirely in a non-context (which happens frequently with certain types screens readers), they should know what they'll be doing next.

Some examples of poor link text:

  • For more details about our candles, click here.
  • Get our size chart to determine your ideal size.

Examples of good link text:

  • For more information about our candles, check out our Candle FAQs.
  • To find your perfect fit, download our sizing chart as a PDF.

There will be occasions, nevertheless, it's advantageous or even necessary to include link text such as "Read more." An illustration of this is a grid of recent blog posts on your homepage, and every short piece of content ends with an "Read More" hyperlink. What do you do in that case?

The best option would be to utilize the aria-label attribute. This permits you to include the label of your choice to your link. Here's what a link with the attribute aria-label attribute may appear as follows:

An unsatisfactory solar installation could make your upfront investment evaporate. Here are 15 important questions you should be sure to ask any prospective solar company before you decide to trust their track record. [Read more...]

But what if you want to connect to an image? In the case of images, your alt attribute is your hyperlink's text. For instance, if you've created a mockup of your free eBook download, make sure that your alt attribute to say something like "eBook concerning choosing the appropriate lipstick for your skin tone." This tells the visitors on your website about the image and the content that will be displayed when they click on it.

 Accessible Fonts

The first thing you want to think about is the font size. It is crucial to ensure that your text can easily be understood by those who are blind in one way or simply having trouble seeing smaller font sizes. While there isn't an official minimum size for fonts, a good starting point is 16px for the body text.

Typically, it's up to users' browsers to alter the size of fonts, which they do through either expanding the font itself or by zooming into the webpage and using responsive designs. It is important to design your site to allow a user to zoom up to 200% without being unable to access or view your site content. In particular, you would like to prevent truncated or overlapping text when the font resizes. The best thing to do is to test it by yourself. Find instructions for each browser on this page.

Think about the font choices that you select, as well. Complex or curly fonts are often very difficult to read and are best used only infrequently (such as a signature or ornamental element). Stick to only 2-3 fonts on your site to make your information less confusing and easier to understand.

An example of the Ishihara Color Blindness Test – circles filled with dots and numbers in different colors.
The Ishihara Color Blindness Test, frequently used to determine color blindness.

 Accessible Colors

Different people do not see color exactly the same. Actually, around 8% of people and 0.5% of women have at least one type or color blindness. Therefore, your site should be fully functional and suitable for use in greyscale. There are tools such as Google's Chrome extension Grayscale Black and White to check.

Contrast is one of the most important factors for web accessibility. Check the fonts over images or backgrounds, as well as the contrast between components (such as images and buttons) in close proximity to each other.

Ideally, you'll want the luminosity of 4.5:1 for body text, and 3:1 for text that is large. Contrast Tester is a fantastic tool for testing foreground against. background, and also checking your color preferences using greyscale.

A key rule to bear in mind: Never rely on colors alone. Shapes and symbols are a great way to convey the similar message.

In the example above, if your contact form error message is red, you may also consider adding an exclamation point or stop points symbol to draw interest in the event that your site visitors' are red-green colorblind. Patterns and textures are also great ways to show the contrast.

 accessible headings

Be aware that headings aren't only there for size - they're an important structural component of the content. Using proper heading elements allow users to easily find headings and sections on the page and navigate effectively.

What would a correct heading structure be as?

"h1>" should be used to indicate the main subject matter of the page. It can only be used one time per page. This could be the name of a blog entry or even the name of the item such as.

The h2> and

elements can be used to introduce different sections of the content beneath.

 Here's a sample heading format for a blog post:

Why should you choose an stainless steel water bottle Water bottles are ideal for camping. They are utilized to boil water in the wilderness. They're durable and can survive falls Stainless steel water bottles will keep beverages colder for more long. Stainless steel water bottles are the safest alternative. They don't release chemicals as many plastic bottles do. They don't corrosion like other metals. They can be cleaned in the dishwasher.

As you can see, it is organized a way that a site visitor or a screen reader can easily understand the content of each page.

 Accessible Forms

Forms can be tricky for screen readers. However, they're often the way that you'll gather payment details as well as product-specific details and even leads. It's the reason it's important to ensure that the forms are accessible and simple to use.

The best place to begin is by making use of labels - yes, even if you have placeholders! A label should tell the users what fields to fill out (e.g. Email Address) while the placeholder should explain how to fill in the fields (e.g. [email protected]). This is the most important element of a screen reader understanding the content of your application.

Check that all required fields are clearly marked and that instructions (especially on formatting requirements regarding dates, numbers or other information.) are outlined in a way that's easy to understand.

It is also essential to ensure to ensure that your forms must be user-friendly - they can be navigated and filled out by using keyboards. As a programmer, be careful with your use of Javascript in relation to manipulating data on forms when submitting forms and changing form elements. The misuse of Javascript is among the main reasons why forms aren't accessible in full.

 Accessible Video

Videos can be a fantastic opportunity to present your product and showcase the benefits of them as well as share the opinions of customers. It is important to make sure that the videos are accessible and also accessible!

A way to accomplish this is by providing captions for your videos that will assist those that are deaf or difficult to hear. It is recommended that the University of Washington provides great tips to adding captions to your video yourself. But, if you are working with a professional video editor to create the video, you can simply ask them to add captions.

The addition of audio descriptions is a vital step to help people who are blind to be able to comprehend what's happening within the video. Make an additional audio track that describes important visual content particularly the parts of your film that do not already include narration. Also, you can utilize transcripts to outline all audio content and describe the video itself.

It is also worth considering the player for video. Be sure the one you choose supports closed captions and provides the ability to toggle audio descriptions on and off. Also, make sure that all buttons in the player are operated with a screen reader or keyboard.

 Keyboard Navigation

The subject has been discussed in a few paragraphs on the subject before however it is crucial to ensure that your site can be run using only an keyboard. This is especially helpful for people with disabilities in their motors that could cause problems using traditional mice.

As the tab button can be used to navigate throughout the page It's crucial that your navigation for your website is designed in a way that follows the flow of visuals on the page (left to right, top to the bottom). Make sure to test your website and ensure that you're able navigate by using the Tab button in the following ordering:

  1. Header
  2. Main navigation menu
  3. All navigational and link pages
  4. Footer

Also take the time to review the custom widgets, applications and plugins. to ensure that they can easily be exited via the Escape key, and adhere to the proper accessibility guidelines for widgets.

The main thing to remember is testing, test, try! Take your time through all pages on your keyboard and make certain they're simple to use.

 Downloads that are accessible

If you are selling digital downloads via your eCommerce website It's crucial to make sure that that the downloads themselves can be accessed.

Another way to make PDFs more accessible is to incorporate PDF tags that give a veiled, logical representation of the content that's accessible to screen users. Adobe Acrobat provides a great tutorial on making your PDFs accessible.

You'll definitely want to keep in mind the other principles we have discussed in the past, such as text size and contrast in color, throughout your digital download design.

Woman with hearing aid using a laptop on a couch.

 Accessible Courses

When creating online courses, be sure to keep in mind concepts like captions for videos and transcriptions of audio. You should think about making your course available in multiple styles, like audio, video and text so that there's something to suit every person. Many of the design principles mentioned above can also be applied to your teaching.

It's important that you provide various options for communication to your students. A non-verbal person may not be able call and ask questions and a blind person might not be able to submit inquiries online with ease. This is the same for submitting any assignments or coursework. Make sure you are flexible to your students, and be able to work with them in order to assist them with getting maximum benefit from your courses.

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In the end, when it comes to creating an accessible online store it is essential to take the time to be aware of how customers who are disabled will interact with your website. When you have a good grasp of this, it's easier to consider accessibility at the entire development process and, ultimately, provide an excellent user experience for your customers.

If you're in search of more information, WordPress provides a great web accessibility handbookthat contains even more testing tools, development best techniques, as well as suggestions for store managers.