How to Make Your WordPress Blog More Accessible
You may have heard about web accessibility, but many people do not understand the importance of accessible websites. Understanding and properly using the accessibility features on WordPress is crucial to your site’s usability. When a site is more accessible, more users can read it. Conversely, if a site is less accessible, or when site owners don’t prioritize accessibility, a portion of your audience is deterred or entirely restricted from getting all the information your site has to offer. Here are some tips to make your website more accessible.
Images
All images on your website need to be accessible to all visitors. Some users can see pictures, and others may use assistive technology to understand visual aids; therefore, your site should work with that technology. For instance, alternative text is a written description that you pair with an image. Screen readers will dictate that description aloud to any user who may not see the image. You should use alt text for any images that provide helpful information on the page. This includes everything from photos to logos to infographics.
Color Palettes
Certain color palettes can be difficult to see for people with color blindness, poor eyesight, and similar problems. Generally, you want to use colors with a lot of contrast, so people can easily see your text. WordPress has many helpful resources and guides for their accessibility. Additionally, when you are working in WordPress and want to change the color of some text, the site will give a prompt in the right-hand editing menu if the color will cause accessibility issues.
Texts
The majority of what we consume on the Internet is text. We read articles, recipes, stories, and more on websites. So, the text needs to be readable for all users, whether they read with their eyes or ears. This can be done by choosing the proper size and font for your text. An accessible font is easy to read in all sizes. Fonts like Tahoma, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, and Times New Roman are all accessible choices. Those with dyslexia may find it challenging to read specific fonts, such as serif fonts. Sans-serif fonts for body text are a safer choice. It’s best to avoid handwriting or cursive fonts unless the text is large, sporadic, and mostly decorative.
Use Accessible Form
Forms are commonly used elements on many websites. They foster interactivity and help business owners collect information about their customers. However, if not formatted correctly, they can present a challenge to anyone using assistive technology. You can label your form’s fields to help users navigate them. Another common practice for form designers is to use placeholders, which is an example text that appears in the form field.
Contact Adventure Web Interactive Today
For more tips on how to optimize your web content and drive more traffic to your website, follow our blog. Adventure Web Interactive offers expert marketing solutions, including blog and copywriting and social media management. Take the stress of planning, posting, and plotting off of your team and contact us online or by giving us a call at (410) 788-7007. To see more information about our team and services, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
