As a website owner, you will always want to give access to everyone regardless of where and who they are – even if they’re disabled. By providing equal access to everyone, you are improving your website’s visibility as well as credibility and reliability.
The subject of web accessibility has been one of the most underrated necessities for a website. While it has utmost importance as well as benefits for a business or website, many are still unaware of its significant impact as well as its existence. However, there are also those who took advantage of improving their websites’ web accessibility in order to achieve positive yields.
In this article, we’ll share with you some inspiring examples of websites and companies who prioritized web accessibility to make their websites more inclusive and more productive.
What you need to know about web accessibility
The term ‘web accessibility’ is actually a broad term and involves a few levels of accessibility. First, web accessibility simply refers to the practice of enabling a website to be usable as well as reachable for everyone – especially for users with disabilities. Users with disabilities such as those with visual and hearing impairment and those with limb disabilities should be able to use and access the particular digital media. The digital media can include applications, programs, websites, software, as well as content.
In addition, web accessibility of a website is based on regulations from WCAG (Web Accessibility Guidelines) developed by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) that showcases technical recommendations to ensure a websites’ accessibility.
The three levels of web accessibility
Web accessibility is based on WCAG compliance and it has three degrees of conformity. Each level provides a level of requirement and responsibility attached to it. The levels of web accessibility are as follows:
WCAG Level A
This is the basic level of web accessibility for any website. The major requirement of this basic level is to have a website easy to use or navigate for the general user. At this level, there is no requirement for any assistive technology such as screen readers. While this level of web accessibility may seem like a favorable level for any website, it actually makes the website less visible to all users – especially to users with disabilities. More and more internet users with disabilities are increasing each year, and the potential customers and clients in this area is also getting bigger. Thus, this level of accessibility is not ideal if you’re looking to boost the number of your website audience, as well as performance.
WCAG Level AA
This next level of web accessibility requires the use of assistive technologies such as screen readers, hearing devices, virtual keyboards, braille and alternative reading and input methods, color blindness settings, and many others. At the same time, the website should have labels as well as subheadings and captions that would describe the content of the website. While incorporating such requirements onto your website requires a lot of work and funds, it actually boosts your website credibility and reliability – especially to users with disabilities.
WCAG Level AAA
This highest level of web accessibility requires each page of a website to make use of section headers in order to categorize or arrange the content of the page. This enables the user to easily follow and understand all contents of the website. It also requires different assistive technologies as that of the WCAG Level AA. This maximum level of web accessibility provides absolute accessibility to all users – even users with disabilities.
5 web accessibility examples
Now there are actually a ton of websites and online businesses that follow and maintain web accessibility for all users. However, we’ve handpicked 5 of the best and most prominent names out online as examples. They are as follows:
Apple
Apple is a market leader in the technology industry and is among the most popular name when it comes to gadgets and digital devices. It is popular for its commitment to accessibility that values its users regardless of their disabilities.
Apple has consistently conformed to WCAG compliance at the AA level. Among their notable contributions to their users include the Voiceover and Assistive technology compatibility designed for users with visual impairments. Other web accessibility features and functions of their website and applications also include keyboard accessibility, alt text for images, captions and transcripts, visual and color accessibility, and many others.
BBC
Another example of a website compliant to WCAG regulations is BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and they are known and proven to display commitment to inclusivity and accessibility to all users through features and practices. Among their notable features and practices tailored for web accessibility for users with disabilities include the use of transcripts and subtitles, clear headings and links, al texts for images, captions for live streams and on-demand content, keyboard accessibility, along with user feedback testing.
Although BBC is a British organization and is therefore not really required to be subject to the ADA regulations, this organization is a prime example of web accessibility for all users – especially users with disabilities.
Another name that’s popular in the social media industry is LinkedIn. Just like BBC, LinkedIn is also not directly subject to ADA regulations such as the WCAG. However, LinkedIn is a great example of accessibility and inclusivity for all users, including users with disabilities.
A few of details on how they promote website accessibility include keyboard navigation, a focus mode that highlights pages, alt texts, accessibility guide, screen reader compatibility, and accessibility statement that outlines LinkedIn’s commitment to accessibility.
When it comes to websites that promote website accessibility, Google always comes out from the list. Google is among the few websites that have a huge line of applications and products that promote web accessibility. Some of its products promoting web accessibility include Google Maps, Google search, and YouTube.
It is WCAG 2.1 compliant and each application comes with a range of impressive accessibility features. It also boasts about its accessibility developer tools, closed captions on YouTube, voice access, and a range of assistive technology compatibilities that allow users with disabilities to use the software or application with ease and confidence.
Dropbox
Another great example of web accessibility is displayed by Dropbox which belongs to the file hosting service industry. Seeing that file management is quite in-demand for online users, Dropbox made sure that their services are accessible for all kinds of users regardless of their disabilities.
Among its accessibility features include its keyboard accessibility which allows the website to be accessed using a keyboard, a high contrast mode to assist visually impaired users, a screen reader compatibility feature, al texts for images, accessibility feedback and support, and so much more.
Our Final Thoughts
Making a website accessible for all types of users brings about a ton of benefits towards both website owner and user. While it brings about convenience and comfort, it also delivers valuable user-experience.
Theses particular examples of websites that promote web accessibility is among the loved websites in their field. These websites are preferred by many users among others not only because of its services, products, or features, but because of its credibility, reliability, and its compassion with all types of users.
If you’re looking to establish a website that is both dependable and productive, ensure that it is equipped with web accessibility features and that it follows accessibility guidelines.
