Get more customers by making your website work for everyone

Wuhcag is a new home for web accessibility and WCAG 2.0 from me, Luke McGrath. I’ll show you that making your website accessible isn’t as hard or as technical as you think.

I’ll help you to:

  • broaden your website’s customer base
  • make your website work better for all of your customers
  • comply with equality and anti-discrimination law
  • do something positive for the world

I’ll do these things by explaining, very clearly, how to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 – otherwise known as WCAG 2.0.

What is web accessibility?

Web accessibility is all about making websites work for people of all abilities. Some people with disabilities use assistive technologies to look at your website. These technologies might read aloud the text of your website, convert it to Braille, magnify it, or various other things. Some of your customers rely on this technology. If your website doesn’t play nicely, your customers can’t interact with you.

As well as using technology, some of your customers might need different ways to understand your content. If you have audio or video on your website, you should offer transcripts or captions for your deaf customers. Your images should have a text alternative – something that shows up if your customer chooses not to view images. There are plenty more areas that need including too, from making sure your links make sense to the colours you use.

A higher percent of your customers than you think will have some form of disability. If you really want to serve as many people as possible, you need to take web accessibility seriously.

WCAG 2.0

Web accessibility is a confusing place for the uninitiated, that’s where the WCAG 2.0 come in.

I’m joking of course. The WCAG 2.0 are a confusing mess for the uninitiated too. But what they stand for is vital. The WCAG 2.0 create a standard for web accessibility. They are a common benchmark for making websites useful to everyone on the planet.

My aim is to simplify web accessibility. That’s what my book does, by taking every single guideline in the WCAG 2.0 and explaining the advice in your language. I’ve shortened over 700 pages of technical jargon into 100 pages of  clear and concise advice. If meeting the WCAG 2.0 is on your agenda, I urge you to buy the book.

Section 508 compliance

Section 508 is an American standard, used by government websites to make sure they are accessible to all. The standard is also required of agencies who tender for government contracts. Section 508 is currently undergoing a ‘refresh’ by the powers that be, but the expected result is to map the regulation to the Level AA standard of the WCAG 2.0.

Until the refresh is confirmed, meeting Level AA of the WCAG 2.0 is more than enough to make sure Section 508 compliance.

A better website for everyone

Web accessibility and the WCAG 2.0 don’t just benefit your customers with disabilities, they make your website better for everyone visiting it. The basis of accessibility is a clean, clear and responsive website – something that everyone can get behind. Many of the WCAG 2.0 requirements will help your customers with slow internet connections, old browsers and old devices. While the world is becoming more and more connected, many people still use old technology to browse the web.

This is especially important if you are thinking about international markets. Many people in developing countries have access to the web only through devices with small screens, limited multimedia capacity or slow download speeds. Addressing web accessibility will help these customers interact with you too.

Web accessibility and the law

Laws are notoriously slow to keep up with technology, but times are changing. Equality and anti-discrimination law that applies to physical businesses, can also be applied online too. You wouldn’t dream of turning a customer with a disability away from your doorstep, so why should you turn them away from your website?

Recent years have seen an increase in legal cases brought by charities against companies with bad web accessibility. This trend will continue as those companies reach out of court settlements and promise to improve their websites. Acting early might save you a lot of money in the long-term.

Just be nice

So now you know the business reasons for web accessibility (more customers, happier customers) and the legal reasons. Why are you still reading? There are no better reasons for you to buy the book.

Except maybe that feeling of doing something good with your time. So far, I’ve explained why it makes great business sense to improve accessibility by meeting the WCAG 2.0. But you don’t need to have a website that makes money to see the value of accessibility. Whatever you have, a blog, portfolio or the next Facebook, making it accessible is a wonderful thing to do.

The WCAG 2.0 are the most recognised web accessibility standards in the world. Use them to make your website as good as possible.

Now you know that, it’s time to buy the book.