Accessibility
Web accessibility refers to the assurance that websites are created so that people of all abilities can access them. All users should be able to comprehend, operate, understand and use information and services found online (view this article to learn more about web accessibility).
Upanup strives to be a leader in designing and developing accessible websites. These websites cater to the user, while being engaging and appealing to look at. We specialize in service-based websites, so it is crucial that all users can access available services.
In the government sector, there are increasing requirements for websites to comply with WCAG 2.0 standards (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). There are 3 levels of compliance, each with a strict set of rules that websites must comply with to be accessible for all users:
- Level A: This is the lowest level of WCAG compliance. It does not achieve complete accessibility for many situations.
- Level AA: This is the mid-range level, and the most commonly adhered to WCAG compliance level for our clients. It includes all the level A requirements, plus its own set of additional rules.
- Level AAA: This is the highest level of compliance, and includes additional rules above and beyond the level A and AA requirements.
For more information of WCAG, you can check out this article on our website What is WCAG?
All users should be able to comprehend, operate, understand and use information and services found online.
Examples of Web Accessibility in Action
Design
Many users have impaired vision, colour blindness, or need to access the website in difficult lighting (ie. a mobile phone outside on a sunny day). Strong colour contrast and adequate text sizes ensure browsing is possible for all users.
Development
Users may have limited mobility which restricts their browsing experience. Accessibility measures ensure that users can navigate a website using their keyboard, rather than a mouse.
Content
Users with low literacy or English fluency will find that writing in plain language with short, descriptive headings and clear calls-to-action ensures these users can find information quickly.
Making Your Website Accessible
To quickly test the accessibility of a website, Upanup suggests using the Wave Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool. When you enter your website's URL into the tool, it searches the page to identify many accessibility and WCAG errors. This tool is a great starting point, but does not find all issues on every page. A secondary, human evaluation of the website will help identify all accessibility issues to address.
When drafting content, it is important to keep the following guidelines and best practices in mind, in order to ensure your content is accessible:
Our Upanup website has several articles pertaining to accessibility, including "How to Write Alt Text?", "Carousel Best Practices" and many more.
We want to hear from you!
Our team at Upanup is always striving to make this guide better and more accessible for our clients. We’d love to hear from you, so we can continue to improve this guide.