Learn what makes a platform accessible, the impacts of inaccessible streaming services, and how popular streaming services rank against web accessibility standards.
5. The unexpectedbenefits of accessibledesign
Accessibilitycan improve Search EngineOptimisation (SEO)
Best practice techniques for web accessibilitycomplement SEO strategy. The following allhelp in
search engine optimisation.
• Having a semantic heading structure (correct use of H1, H2s)
• Using descriptive alt-text for images
• Link text
• Adding captions to videos
6. The unexpectedbenefits of accessibledesign
Prioritisingaccessibilitybenefits yourbrand
“63% of consumers prefer to purchase products and services from companies that stand for a
purpose.”
Accenture research
7. The unexpectedbenefits of accessibledesign
Improving accessibility can boost sales
• Are you ‘designing out’ 20% of your customers?
• 14 million disabled people in the UK, 1 billion globally.
• 40% of UKhouseholds have at least one disabled person. That’s11million households.
8. The unexpectedbenefits of accessibledesign
Being accessible canstillmake you amarket leader today
A few businesses are driving competition in
their industries
• Barclays
• Disney Plus
• Sainsbury’s
11. How a lackof inclusivedesign affects spending decisions
"When you have problems buying goods orservices ona website orapp, or using an in-store machine,what do
you do?"
12. How a lackof inclusivedesign affects spending decisions
“In thepastyearhaveyouhada poordigital experiencein anyofthe followingbecauseyourdisabilitymadeit difficultto buyoruse
thosethings”
13. How a lackof inclusivedesign affects spending decisions
The Purple Pound is worth £274 billion, according to ONS data
15. Themost commonissues (web)
Colour contrast
• Fortext to bereadable or other elements to bedistinguishable they need
to have sufficient contrast with the background. The recommended
minimum is 4.5:1.
• Download the contrast-ratio.com plugin and check yourcolourcontrast
for free.
16. Themost commonissues
Writing in PlainEnglish
• Theaverage reading agein the UK is 9 years old.
• Metaphors and figures of speechcan also be confusing for those whocannot understand the inferred
meaning.
• Write orpaste your text directly into www.hemingwayapp.com for a strong steer on how accessible
your content is.
17. Themost commonissues
Closed captions on videos
• Beit in Instagram stories, or MP’s lobbying for the nation’s
support, 11 million people in the UK rely on captions.
• Usethe Cliptomatic app to make yourown.
• Look-up #NoCaptionNoVote movement in the most recent
elections.
18. Themost commonissues
Keyboard-only navigation
• A fundamental accessibility principle.
• It affects a large range of people with motor, sensory and orcognitive impairments.
• Quick tip: Tab through your ownwebsite to understand howfrustrating it is for someone using
keyboard-only navigation.
19. Themost commonissues
Logical headingstructure
• It’s important to structure any long-form website
content using H1, H2 and H3 level headings.
• Quick tip: Use Webaim’s WAVE chromeplugin to
seehowyour headings arestructured.
20. Themost commonissues
Large links, buttonsand controls
• It’s important to make buttons, links and controls
large enough so that people with motor
impairments can use them.
24. The 5 most commonissues (streaming)
5. Flashing images on content I want to watch
“Across all streaming services, warnings for flashing images aren’t consistent or
prominent enough. I often have my migraines triggered because of this.”
“I have photosensitive epilepsy and there are frequently no warnings on films
with flashing images, which is really annoying if you’re paying for something.”
25. The5 most common issues
4. No audio description
“I frequently find shows on Netflix that I would like to
watch, but do not have audio description. This mean
that I miss out on things that my friends are all
enjoying and using, and as a young person, it makes
me feel very alone in the world.”
26. The5 most common issues
3. Lack of trigger warnings on programmes and films
“It is extremely rare to see trigger warnings”
“I’m triggered by specific violent content which I often
have to search for online using websites such as
doesthedogdie.com as the warnings on Netflix and
Amazon Prime Video often don’t say.”
27. The5 most common issues
2. The video streaming app or website is difficult to
navigate
“I get easily confused and find it difficult to work out how to set up and use
accounts and services. A friend helped me with Amazon Prime. I have not used
other streaming services for this reason.”
“I mainly have difficulty logging in and navigating sites and services because of
visual problems. Without high contrast (black and white) I can’t focus. Also
moving images behind text sets of my severe vertigo. I cannot complete log in
without help.”
28. The5 most common issues
1. Closed captions are unavailable or poor quality
“The lack of subtitling is shocking on streamed TV services. There is absolutely
no excuse for dropping subtitles.”
“I am deaf, all programmes in this modern age should have subtitles”
“I have chronic fatigue syndrome (ME), part of which contains noise sensitivity,
so subtitles are a godsend as I can have the volume down low enough not to
aggravate my symptoms.”
“[I have] Autism. Sensitivity to flashing lights. Sometimes I prefer to watch with
the sound off, so I need subtitles.”
It’s a common myth that web accessibility only benefits disabled people or people with sensory, cognitive or motor impairments. In reality, making your website accessible means it’s easier for everyone to use.
Different situations and environments affect how a person uses a website. Some people may be temporarily disabled, either through a broken leg, ear infection, by cataracts, or holding a baby for example. There is a famous quote from the Home Office which reads ‘we are all only temporarily not disabled’.
Others may be in an environment that affects the way they interact with your website. For example, someone using a phone screen outdoors in bright sunlight, in a loud environment like a pub, using your website on the bus, or while they’re multi-tasking.
Some great examples of where inclusive design has influenced innovation:
OXO Good Grips line
The typewriter
Voice assistants
Best practice techniques for web accessibility complement SEO strategy. Having a semantic heading structure (correct use of H1, H2s), using descriptive alt-text for images, link text and adding captions to videos all help in search optimisation.
Legal & General developed a new website with accessibility at its forefront and tested it with disabled people.
The results:
Organic search traffic increased by 25% in the first 24 hours after launch, eventually growing to 50%
Page loading times reduced by 75%
Annual site maintenance savings of £200,000
Staff time spent managing content reduced from 5 days to half a day per job
100% return on investment (ROI) in 12 months
Engineers at Apple have been accessibility innovators since the company began. For pioneering features like VoiceOver, Braille display, and baking accessibility into all their products, they are widely regarded as the best in the industry.
Around 14 million people in the UK (20% of the population) are disabled. Design that does not consider disabled people is the same as stopping 1 in every 5 customers who try to get through your shop door coming in. Tesco worked with the RNIB in 2001 to make the home grocery service at Tesco.com more accessible to blind customers. By the launch of the separate new site, an accessible alternative, it was thoroughly tested by more than 70 blind and partially sighted people.
Tesco built a faster version of the website with:
more intuitive navigation structure (previously unusable with screenreader)
clear descriptive link text
simpler language
fewer images, decreasing the time it takes a webpage to load
Tesco discovered that fully sighted customers found it easier to use this new interface and shortly built accessibility into all its online services.
The results:
revenue from online sales increased to £13 million annually
deliveries per average week increased from 28,000 in 2000, to 70,000 per week in 2001
But the online world is still woefully un-inclusive and many sectors will gain the competitive edge by implementing accessible design.
As web accessibility awareness increases, as does the legal and ethical obligation to make your digital services inclusive.
Making sure your website is set up for keyboard-only navigation is a fundamental accessibility principle.
It affects anyone who uses assistive technology, like a screen reader, to navigate through a website. This includes a large range of people with motor, sensory and or cognitive impairments.
Keyboard users typically use the tab key to navigate through elements on a web page such as links, buttons and forms.
Inconsistent page layouts make finding information difficult. It’s important to structure any long-form website content using H1, H2 and H3 level headings. This helps to organise the content visually, but also provides important functionality for those using assistive technology.
The more predictable and intuitive your content is, the more likely a user will find the information they need.
It’s important to make buttons, links and controls large enough so that people with motor impairments can use them.
Small controls, or controls that are placed too close to each other are difficult for many people to use. It’s best to not demand precision from your user and give all clickable elements space.
This is especially relevant on mobile and tablet devices with smaller screens.