Creative | Accessibility
The Benefits of Accessibility
Accessibility should be a fundamental part of planning a website and adds only a very small margin to the overall cost when implemented from the start of a project.
This cost is offset against the potential savings in development and maintenance time, together with tapping into the increased profitability of a broader market reach.
Not taking accessibility into account from the start can lead to an expensive and often painful retrofit for a site. It will also be detrimental to the perfomance of your website in search engine rankings.
Improved Usability
Accessibility makes two key improvements to the usability of any website:
- Provides clear and consistent navigation
- Provides understandable and clear content
This benefits all users as it makes finding information easier and encourages people to stay.
Reduced Costs
Incorporating web standards and the techniques that accessibility requires can reduce the cost of maintaining a website. Webpages will be better organised, with cleaner coding and seperated content meaning the website is easier for designers, developers and content authors to work with and maintain.
Managers can also expect improved network performance and page rendering as accessible pages reduce file sizes and bandwidth usage. This is due to the efficient and effective use of technology and a lesser dependence on bulky media files and graphics.
Greater Compatibility and Future Proofing
Following accessibility guidelines allows sites to 'degrade gracefully' as they will remain readable and accessible while browsers and web standards change and evolve. Cross-platform testing ensures increased compatibility across different browsers, platforms and devices.