Digital Accessibility

There are many benefits to an accessible website:

• The target audience that can use and understand your website increases by 20-30%.
• Google loves you! You'll be found better in search engines.
• The website is more user-friendly for all users.
• A well-accessible website is usable by a larger target audience.
• The website works (even) better on different devices and in various browsers.
• The website is socially responsible and your company gets a positive image.

What do the visually impaired, (color)blind, deaf and hard of hearing, low-literate, dyslexic, physically disabled, or just people with a broken arm have in common?

Together they represent 35% of the Dutch population who cannot properly read, understand, or use your website if it's not accessible. For many companies, this is already a point of attention, but it doesn't get the urgency it should. For (semi-)government websites, it's even legally required to meet digital accessibility requirements.

Some examples of digital accessibility shortcomings are:

• Unclear buttons without description.
• Busy or complex design.
• Bright colors without contrast.
• Lack of subtitles.

An accessible website must also be future-proof, which is why it's important to pay attention to design, code, and content during construction that allows everyone to use the website properly. Important elements that Get Interactive takes into account when building your website.

Google also values these elements highly because it improves the user experience, which leads to better ranking in search results and ultimately also affects your findability.

Important to know is that since July 1, 2018, it's mandatory for (semi-)government organizations to comply with accessibility requirements under the "Temporary Decree on Digital Accessibility of Government". This is a temporary law that will eventually be replaced by the "Progress Digital Government Act", which, after voting, will apply from July 1, 2022 at the earliest. This law is based on the European accessibility directive, and the requirements are identical to those of W3C (more on that later)

But what does "Digital Accessibility" actually mean? In short: making the internet accessible to everyone, including the elderly and people with disabilities. Dutch government agencies may not discriminate between people with and without disabilities or chronic illness.

But even if you're not a government agency, it's obviously valuable to make your website accessible to as many people as possible and not exclude anyone.

For government agencies, it's mandatory to publish an accessibility statement. This states what measures the organization is taking, including a schedule, to make and keep the website accessible.

There are several organizations that deal with accessibility testing. An authority in this field is the international World Wide Web Consortium, also known as W3C. Within this organization, there is a special working group, the Web Accessibility Initiative, which has established guidelines that an accessible website must meet. These are, by the way, the same guidelines by which government websites are measured.

The code of a WordPress website already meets W3C standards (valid code). But because almost every WordPress website uses plugins or themes, you still run the risk that these don't contain valid code. At Get Interactive, we always create custom websites so you can be sure that your website doesn't have unnecessary plugins or themes running.

It's possible to check whether your website meets these guidelines using a handy validation tool. You'll then see an overview with errors and points to address. Of course, we can help you with this!

We hope this information makes clear how important digital accessibility is. Would you like to actively work on digital accessibility, or would you like us to take a look at where opportunities lie? No problem, we're happy to help!