Adweek - 26.08.2019

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES

ADWEEK 7

®|

AUGUST 26, 2019

VOICE

Designing

Accessible

Brand Websites

DIVERSITY EFFORTS NEED TO INVOLVE

DISABILITY INCLUSION. BY JOSH LOEBNER

Furthermore, far too many

tourism websites dedicate content to

pet-friendly lodging, attractions and

restaurants. While I’m a dog lover, I

also know that people with disabilities

and their families and friends want

info about accessible tourism.

Some brands, though, are ahead

of the online accessibility curve, such

as grocery chain Albertsons. Grocery

Store News reported on the brand’s

improved websites and apps, which

allow blind and visually impaired

people to more easily interact online.

Simple and proactive website

accessibility fixes will pivot brands

from appearing in court to appealing

to new users. To get started, here’s

a 10-point introductory list that

will allow a website to be more

perceivable, operable, understand-

able and robust for all users.

COLOR CONTRAST

Adjust color contrast for content

clarity for people with visual

impairments such as color

blindness and/or low vision.

FONTS

Create live text for ease of scaling

text size and font style for readability

for people with dyslexia and other

neurodiversity or visual impairments.

RESPONSIVE DESIGN

Ensure sizing and functionality

across desktop, laptop, tablet and

mobile devices.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Allow for representation of disability

inclusivity in photos and provide

legibility, proper alt tag descriptions

and descriptions of in-photo text on

the website.

VIDEO

Provide audio descriptions and

closed-captioning and allow for

representation of disability and

transcripts.

HYPERLINKS

Allow links to provide enough of

a description for those using an

assistive screen reader so they

understand where the link goes.

BUTTONS

Use buttons and clickable elements

with color, style, text descriptions and

hover states that can allow for ease

of clickability when using a mouse or

keyboard.

MENU

Provide logical UX best practices

that can easily guide people to

disability information.

Virtually every brand has a website,

but many fall short when it comes to

disability inclusion and accessibility.

While a handful of agencies and

advertisers are leading the charge

for online accessibility, there’s still

confusion, misunderstanding and

sometimes ambivalence that could

easily shift with disability insights and

best practices for developers, content

creators and clients when building or

updating websites.

The web was designed to give

everyone access to information, but

not everyone who goes online has

the same abilities. To make a more

user-friendly internet for everyone,

including people with disabilities,

Americans With Disabilities Act

(ADA) compliance and web content

accessibility guidelines, or the WCAG

2.1, have been developed.

Currently federal, state and local

governments, public universities,

schools, hospitals, airports and

airlines are mandated to have

accessible websites. Even if your

clients aren’t on this list, having an

accessible website still makes sense.

Adding a level of complexity are

the thousands of ADA compliance

lawsuits filed against everyone from

mom and pop businesses to Fortune

500 companies if their websites aren’t

accessible. Some brands have made

compliance updates, while others fight

to keep their websites segregated.

For example, Domino’s petitioned

the Supreme Court to overturn a

lower court ruling mandating ADA

compliance updates to their website

and app. None of the 2020 presidential

websites are ADA compliant, and many

Cannes Lion winners—even some with

campaigns focusing on disability—

don’t have accessible websites.

TERMINOLOGY

Ensure content uses disability-

friendly words and phrasing.

TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT

Use code for HTML tags, header

hierarchy, title tagging and alt text

and other coding best practices.

If an advertiser or brand has

a physical location that meets

accessibility requirements, such as

ramps, braille signage, grab bars

in bathrooms or other amenities, it

makes sense that their website be

accessible, too. And for purely digital

brands, website accessibility means

the chance for more users to engage

and convert.

So, what’s the next step? A Google

search for website accessibility

will bring up dozens of options for

downloadable software, automated

monitoring and AI-driven compliance

tools to audit websites, but I believe

compliance software is only one part

of the solution. Educating creative

teams on accessibility and inclusion,

welcoming customers with disabilities

into the website development process

and considering agency talent

recruitment of people with disabilities

as developers, content creators and

other positions will ensure voices are

heard throughout the process.

Lastly, don’t have your creative

teams and clients check off the

website accessibility compliance

boxes. Instead, recognize the value,

loyalty and passion that people with

disabilities will bring when agencies

and advertisers establish a creative

commitment across the digital

landscape and beyond.

Specs

Claim to fame

Josh Loebner is director

of strategy at Designsensory,

an American Advertising

Federation (AAF) Mosaic Council

member and an AAF Silver

Medal recipient.

Base Knoxville, Tenn.

Tw i t t e r @JoshLoebner