Key Summary:
- Understand WCAG 2.1 Guidelines: Ensure your site complies with WCAG 2.1 standards.
- Use Clear and Descriptive Text: Easy-to-read, simple language benefits all users.
- Alt Text for Images: Provide alternative text descriptions for all images.
- Keyboard Navigation: Ensure your website is fully navigable via keyboard for those with mobility impairments.
- Text Resizing and Contrast: This feature allows users to easily adjust text size and ensures good contrast between text and backgrounds.
- Accessible Forms: All forms should be designed for ease of use, with clear labels and instructions.
- Closed Captions for Multimedia: Include captions and transcripts for video and audio content.
Why Website Accessibility Matters in Australia
Australia’s Disability Discrimination Act 1992 requires businesses to offer equal access to services, including websites. If your website is inaccessible, your business could be open to legal challenges. Beyond compliance, having an accessible website makes good business sense by reaching a broader audience, including the estimated 1 in 5 Australians living with a disability.
Understanding WCAG 2.1 Standards
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 is the global standard for web accessibility and is used in Australia to define accessibility requirements. WCAG outlines three levels of compliance—A, AA, and AAA—with most Australian businesses targeting AA compliance. The guidelines are broken down into four key principles:
- Perceivable: Information must be presented in ways users can perceive. This includes providing text alternatives for non-text content and making sure all content is adaptable to different devices.
- Operable: Users should be able to navigate the site easily. This involves keyboard accessibility and giving users enough time to interact with content.
- Understandable: Content should be easy to read and understand, ensuring clear instructions and easy-to-use forms.
- Robust: Websites should be compatible with a wide range of devices and assistive technologies, such as screen readers.
Practical Steps to Improve Website Accessibility
1. Use Clear and Simple Language
Content should be easy to read and understand. Avoid jargon or complex terminology, especially if your audience is general users. This benefits everyone, not just those with cognitive disabilities.
2. Provide Alt Text for Images
Adding alt text to all images ensures that screen readers can describe images to visually impaired users. Ensure that alt text is meaningful and describes the content or purpose of the image, rather than just stating “image of” something generic.
3. Ensure Keyboard Navigation
Your website should be fully accessible via keyboard. Many users, including individuals with motor impairments, rely on keyboards instead of a mouse to navigate. Test your site’s navigation to ensure all menus, links, and interactive elements can be accessed through keyboard shortcuts.
4. Text Resizing and Colour Contrast
Allow users to easily resize text on your site without breaking the layout. Also, maintaining strong colour contrast between text and background is crucial for low-vision users. Use tools such as Contrast Checker to ensure compliance with WCAG standards.
5. Accessible Forms
Make forms user-friendly by clearly labelling each field and providing concise instructions. Users with disabilities often use screen readers or other assistive technology, so clearly identify required fields and ensure error messages are specific and helpful.
6. Multimedia Accessibility: Captions and Transcripts
For all multimedia content like videos or podcasts, include captions and transcripts. This is particularly important for users with hearing impairments, and it also enhances your content’s SEO, making it easier to find.
Australian Accessibility Tools and Resources
Australia has several tools and resources that can help businesses ensure website accessibility. Some of these include:
- Vision Australia's Accessibility Tool: Helps to test websites against WCAG compliance.
- WAVE Accessibility Evaluation Tool: A tool that checks for accessibility issues in real-time.
- NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access): A free screen reader that can be used to test how accessible your website is for visually impaired users.
Conclusion
Website accessibility is more than just a legal requirement in Australia; it's a chance to reach more customers and provide a positive online experience for everyone. By aligning your site with WCAG standards and incorporating these must-have features, your business will be better equipped to serve all Australians, regardless of ability.
This guide is written by Hedgehog, a DIY digital marketing consultancy specialising in small and medium businesses in Australia. We offer digital marketing consulting, coaching, and training.
