How many times was this answer given during a survey? It’s time to clarify it all! Accessibility is not just related to the provision of infrastructure and internet connection, it is related to all the difficulties that may come in being able to visit a website and use it.
What is Digital Accessibility?
As defined by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the web, it is the fact of making a website accessible to all individuals, regardless of their hardware or software, their network infrastructure, their mother tongue, their culture, geographic location. Ho. , or physical or mental abilities. This is to provide access to the Internet to the entire population.
accessibility and inefficiency
Undoubtedly, people with disabilities are the first concern of access. There are about two million people with disabilities in France, so it is best not to ignore them. In fact, the web allows them to easily access information without having to travel….but the website should still be accessible to them!
The disability can also be temporary: imagine you broke your hand and you can no longer use a mouse. Of course you’ll be pleased to find accessible websites that allow you to navigate through their content with just the tab key and arrow keys! So it’s a question of taking into account all kinds of constraints, even if some are sometimes not very compatible with the use of the web.
reach and the elderly
We must not forget either the elderly, who suffer from aging disorders that can be assimilated into disability (decreased vision, tremors, etc.). They are about 950,000 in France and have increasingly Internet access. A website that is not accessible, discouraging them and forcing them to visit a competitor’s site, runs the risk of losing an entire customer, simply because the developer has not respected some simple rules.. . Like, for example, to use a good character shape or to make its use simple and understandable at first sight. In this case, it should be as intuitive as possible for the target audience.
Accessibility and Mobile Technology
Many of you are equipped with tablets, smartphones. They have become essential and increasingly used means for consulting the web. How many times have you visited a site that didn’t display properly on your mobile or didn’t work at all? Very annoying, isn’t it? This has become more true in recent years where mobile traffic is in the process of overtaking traffic via a fixed or portable computer and is increasingly carried through a smartphone or tablet.
You see: digital accessibility concerns everyone, even you! So make sure your website is accessible, you will be the winner!