Is Your Website Accessible To Those With Disabilities?
Recent data shows that almost 85% of e-commerce opportunities originate from the United States. In the U.S., it is estimated that about 57 million Americans are living with some form of disability. It could be visual, developmental, or ambulatory, but those disabilities are not making the internet inaccessible to them. More people with disabilities, in fact, are accessing the internet every day than ever before and account for almost 20% of daily internet traffic. If your website is not accessible to individuals with disabilities, you could be losing out on up to 20% of your potential revenues, and since 90% of websites offer zero accessibility to people with disabilities, that is likely you.
People With Disabilities Spend $45 Billion Each Year
With upwards of $3 trillion in disposable income, people with disabilities represent a powerful economic segment that is virtually untouched from an e-commerce perspective. Though spending $45 billion online each year sounds like an impressive number, that reflects barely 1% of their total disposable income! Much of that can be attributed to the fact that a vast majority of websites simply don’t have any accessibility options on them.
How can you make your website more accessible to people with disabilities?
Incorporate screen readers: Some individuals who browse the internet have a hard time seeing, reading, or understanding the content that you’ve provided. By offering an option to have your text be read to them so they can hear it, you’ll provide a better overall user experience.
Have various web applications: Some disabilities prevent computer users from using a mouse or a touchpad. Other disabilities prevent users from being able to use their keyboard to type. By offering navigation possibilities using both the mouse and keyboard for each aspect of your site, you’ll create an excellent user experience.
Utilize videos: Humans are visual creatures, so having information available in a video format is both enticing and often more informative than just a block of text. Some users, however, will undoubtedly be hearing impaired, so be sure to incorporate captioning on your videos so that the information can be passed onto everyone who visits your site.
Have PDFs available: If you don’t have the ability to put on screen readers, you can still create PDFs of your content. PDFs are easily downloaded and can be read by computer-based reading programs. Though this may not be the best overall option, it still provides a user with the ability to better access your website despite their disability.
Websites Must Be ADA Compliant
Clear precedents have been set that show websites must meet compliance standards with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Litigation and settlements over inaccessible websites continues to grow at a rapid pace, yet despite this fact, an estimated 90% of websites are not compliant with ADA standards. Why risk having the costs of litigation or a structured settlement when a few basic steps can help your website be completely accessible and potentially help earn you extra revenue? Take these steps today to evaluate your website so that you can see how it could be more accessible to those who do have disabilities.
Although millions of people visit Brandon's blog each month, his path to success was not easy. Go here to read his incredible story, "From Disabled and $500k in Debt to a Pro Blogger with 5 Million Monthly Visitors." If you want to send Brandon a quick message, then visit his contact page here.