Learn how Kontent.ai generated a 320% ROI over three years and helps its customers speed up time-to-market in a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting. In 2023, Kontent.ai commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by deploying Kontent.ai.
This guide will help you understand what a headless CMS is, the benefits of going headless, and how to choose the right CMS. What is a headless CMS? A headless CMS is a content management system that enables you to deliver content to multiple channels simultaneously.
The term “Composable DXP” describes a new type of Digital Experience Platform (DXP). What does it mean, and how does it differ from a monolithic DXP solution? A digital experience platform enables companies to optimize the digital customer journey as well as manage all their content and campaigns using one central hub.
Explore features Kontent.ai is the preferred CMS for managing every step of the content value chain to deliver great experiences across multiple channels, brands, and regions. Explore the features that customers love.
What is content accessibility, why does it matter so much, and what can you do to make sure you’re creating an inclusive digital space for everyone? Let’s find out.
Published on Dec 2, 2024
Making content accessible is an opportunity to connect with everyone who might benefit from your content, including people with disabilities or impairments. This practice, known as web content accessibility, is a vital part of digital inclusion that makes sure that users with various needs can navigate, understand, and interact with online content.
With accessible content, organizations can reach more people, improve their SEO, and help build a brand that’s welcoming to all. It’s all about opening the digital door to everyone and making sure everyone is included.
In this guide, we’ll dive into what content accessibility is, why it matters, or when it’s required. Along the way, we’ll share best practices and practical tips to make your content more inclusive for everyone.
Content accessibility is about creating digital content—whether on websites, apps, or multimedia platforms—that everyone can use, including those with impairments and disabilities. With accessible content, organizations can make sure that people with various needs, such as those who are visually impaired, hearing-impaired, or have cognitive disabilities, can easily navigate, understand, and interact with digital information.
In digital spaces, content accessibility plays a key role by removing barriers that might otherwise exclude certain users. For example, web accessibility standards, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), outline best practices to ensure online content is inclusive. These standards guide elements like text readability, visual design, navigation, and multimedia adaptability, like adding captions to videos or alt-text to images.
Accessible content means providing options with the goal of making digital environments usable for everyone, creating an inclusive online experience that respects each person’s unique way of interacting with content. Now that we’ve defined what content accessibility is, let’s take a look at why it is important.
Imagine visiting a website that’s hard to navigate or understand—it can feel frustrating and unwelcoming. Creating digital content with inclusive design in mind ensures that everyone, regardless of ability, can engage with it in a meaningful way.
Inclusivity
Accessible content creates a smoother user experience for everyone. For users with disabilities, accessible content means they can interact with digital spaces without unnecessary obstacles. Whether it’s providing screen reader compatibility for those with visual impairments or captions for videos for individuals with hearing impairments, content accessibility helps remove potential barriers.
User experience
Accessible design improves user experience across the board, making it easier for everyone to navigate, understand, and interact with content. For example, a site with clear headings, organized sections, and intuitive layouts enables users to find what they’re looking for faster, making browsing smoother and more enjoyable.
In addition, accessible features like captions, transcripts, and alt-text are helpful for anyone in environments where they may need to read instead of listening or when images don’t load correctly due to connection issues.
SEO rankings
Sites designed with accessibility in mind are structured to be clear, organized, and user-friendly—qualities that search engines prioritize when ranking pages. By implementing accessible features, you’re actually enhancing your site’s SEO, as accessible content is often more straightforward for search engines to crawl and index.
For example, accessible sites often use alt-text for images, which not only assists visually impaired users but also gives search engines additional context about image content. Or, when captions or transcripts for videos are available, search engines can crawl and index that text, making it possible for the content to appear in search results.
Audience reach and potential customer base
Accessible design features such as mobile-friendly layouts, readable text, or video captions are appreciated by users in everyday situations. For instance, someone in a crowded space or quiet office may prefer to read captions on a video instead of listening to audio. Similarly, a user with a slow internet connection might appreciate that images load progressively with alt-text.
By prioritizing accessibility, organizations can significantly expand their audience reach and potential customer base. When content is accessible, it becomes easier for a wider variety of people to engage with your website, products, or services. This includes individuals with different abilities, those using various devices, and even people in unique environments, like noisy spaces or areas with limited internet bandwidth.
To illustrate the importance of an accessible website, let’s take a look at before and after examples of Joyful Bees Honey (JBH), a fictitious website designed to demonstrate a variety of common web design problems.
In the before screenshot of the home page, we can see several accessibility issues, such as insufficient color contrast in text and non-text elements, unlabeled buttons, or link text using color alone.
This is what the home page should look like, following the WCAG guidelines.
Content accessibility goes beyond being a best practice—in many cases, it’s a legal requirement. Industries such as healthcare, finance, education, and government are especially focused on accessibility since they often serve diverse audiences who rely on accessible digital experiences.
Various laws and regulations have been established to make sure that websites and digital content are accessible to all users. These standards are designed to create an inclusive digital environment and prevent discrimination based on disabilities.
As we’ve mentioned before, one of the most widely recognized frameworks for digital accessibility is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1). It is a global standard that sets the benchmark for making websites and digital content accessible to all users, including those with disabilities and older individuals experiencing changes in abilities due to aging. While legal requirements for accessibility may vary from region to region, WCAG serves as a foundational guideline for many accessibility laws and regulations worldwide.
In the United States, for example, accessibility requirements are shaped by frameworks like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. While the ADA ensures that individuals with disabilities have equal access to public spaces and digital services, Section 508 focuses specifically on making federal government websites and technology accessible.
Beyond the US, other regions have also established accessibility requirements that align with or expand upon WCAG. For example, in the European Union, the European Accessibility Act requires public sector websites and mobile apps to be accessible to people with disabilities. Similarly, countries like Canada, Australia, and the UK have their own laws and standards related to web accessibility. For instance, Canada has the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), while the UK follows the Equality Act 2010, and Australia the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
In many industries, accessibility is a legal requirement. Whether it’s making sure that people with disabilities can access vital services or providing equal opportunities for everyone, accessibility laws are in place to ensure that digital content is usable for all.
In this section, we’ll take a closer look at some of the key industries where accessibility is essential and explore why it matters.
In healthcare, accessibility is key to making sure everyone can get the health information they need, book appointments, and access care, including through telemedicine. As more healthcare services move online, it’s important that websites and apps are easy to use for people with disabilities and impairments.
Accessible healthcare content means having clear, easy-to-read medical information, offering alternative formats for documents, and making it simple for patients to book appointments online. It also includes providing accessible telemedicine options, so patients with different needs can have smooth virtual consultations. WCAG in healthcare helps organizations make sure their digital content is accessible and compliant, giving all patients equal access to care, whether in person or online.
In education, accessible content ensures that all students, including those with disabilities, have equal access to learning resources. Accessible education goes beyond physical classrooms—it extends into digital learning environments where accessible education content like captioned videos, screen-reader-friendly materials, and clear course layouts support students of all abilities.
Ensuring digital learning accessibility is essential for schools, universities, and e-learning platforms that want to provide equal opportunities for every student. By following WCAG for schools, educational institutions can create a supportive and inclusive environment where all students have the chance to succeed.
In government and public services, digital accessibility is essential to ensure that all citizens have equal access to important services and information. Accessible government websites play a critical role in allowing people of all abilities to interact with public resources—whether they’re accessing vital information, applying for services, or participating in public discussions.
Digital accessibility in the public sector means designing government websites, application forms, and informational resources that are usable for everyone, regardless of their abilities. Like that, governments can make sure that essential services reach the entire community, supporting equal access to public resources and enabling all citizens to participate fully in civic life.
In financial services, accessibility is essential to ensure that everyone can independently manage their finances and access important tools. Financial accessibility allows people of all abilities to access banking websites, mobile apps, and other digital platforms to check balances, transfer funds, apply for loans, and manage accounts securely.
Accessible design in this sector is key to providing fair, inclusive financial opportunities for all. By prioritizing accessible financial services and maintaining banking website compliance, financial institutions make it possible for customers with disabilities to handle their financial needs with ease and independence.
In e-commerce and retail, accessible online stores are essential for reaching all customers, including those with disabilities. Accessible retail websites allow everyone to browse products, complete purchases, and access support independently, creating an inclusive and seamless shopping experience.
By making sure online stores and digital experiences are accessible, e-commerce businesses create a better experience for all customers. But how exactly do they define what makes a website accessible? To guide businesses and organizations across the board, WCAG sets out four key principles that help ensure digital content is usable by everyone.
As we mentioned earlier, WCAG is a set of guidelines created to help make websites accessible for everyone, including people with disabilities. The guidelines focus on making websites clear, easy to navigate, and functional for all users. In this segment, we will explore the four principles of WCAG, which say that websites should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
The first principle, Perceivable, means that users need to be able to detect and understand the information on a page. For example, providing text alternatives for non-text content—like images, audio clips, and video content—ensures that users who rely on screen readers or other assistive tools can still access that information. Making content perceivable helps guarantee that no information is missed by users regardless of the way they interact with the content.
The second principle, Operable, focuses on making sure users can easily navigate and use the interface. This includes allowing navigation by keyboard alone so that those who can’t use a mouse still have full access. Making sure that all features and functions—such as menus, buttons, forms, and interactive elements—are accessible to everyone is key to creating an operable experience.
The third principle, Understandable, focuses on making sure content is easy to read and interact with. This means using clear, straightforward language and offering clear guidance when users make mistakes. For example, when a user submits a form incorrectly, an error message should explain exactly what went wrong, like missing a required field. This helps users get back on track more easily.
The fourth principle, Robust, means that content needs to be built to work well with both current and future technologies, including assistive tools like screen readers. This involves creating flexible, adaptable websites that continue to function as new technologies emerge, making sure the content remains accessible over time and that all users can access and interact with it, no matter what technology they’re using now or in the future.
Let’s take a look at another example of before and after of Joyful Bees Honey in regards to the principles of WCAG. In the before screenshot, we can see issues like insufficient color contrast of the button text, unlabeled form fields and form field with unidentified errors.
And this is what the page should look like, following the WCAG guidelines.
Now that we’ve explored the four core principles of WCAG, let’s take a look at some key areas where accessibility is needed. In the next segment, we’ll outline five essential areas of accessibility, with practical examples and best practices to guide you in making your digital content more inclusive.
When it comes to text accessibility, readable content is crucial. By using plain language, organizations can make sure that their content is easily understood by everyone. Logical formatting, like clear headings and bullet points, also improves the flow of information, making it easier to follow. For users with visual impairments, selecting easy-to-read, adaptable fonts and allowing text to scale is essential. This helps keep the text legible, even for those with vision impairments.
Making images and multimedia accessible helps all users fully engage with your content, regardless of their sensory abilities. Adding video captions and audio transcripts allows people using screen readers or those unable to hear audio to understand and interact with your content more effectively.
Using descriptive alt-text also enhances visual accessibility. Alt-text provides users with a description of what the image is, ensuring that important information isn’t missed. For users relying on screen readers, alt-text becomes essential, but it’s also helpful in situations where images fail to load.
Here are some alt-text examples to give you inspiration:
Text and media accessibility is only the beginning. Let’s now take a look at other key areas of accessibility that make a difference.
Accessible navigation is essential for providing a seamless experience for all users, especially those who rely on keyboard navigation or screen readers. For users who don’t use a mouse, it’s important to make sure that interactive elements like buttons, links, and forms are navigable with just a keyboard. It’s also helpful to provide keyboard shortcuts that help users jump between sections quickly or skip navigation links at the top of the page that allow jumping directly to the main content.
For those with visual impairments, screen readers are essential tools for navigating the web. To support screen reader compatibility, it’s helpful to structure your site with clear headings, labels, and descriptions so users know where they are and what they can interact with. For example, instead of vague phrases like “Click here,” organizations might consider using descriptive text like “Learn more about our services” so screen readers can provide helpful context.
Creating accessible forms is crucial for ensuring that all users can easily interact with websites. When designing forms, it’s important to include accessible form labels for each field. These labels help users understand what information is being asked for and make it easier to fill out forms, especially for those using screen readers or other assistive technologies.
In addition to clear labels, it’s helpful to provide instructions where necessary. For example, if a field requires a specific format, like a phone number or email address, organizations can let users know what the required format is to avoid confusion.
Error messages should also be descriptive and helpful. If a user submits a form with an invalid entry, it’s useful to provide feedback on what went wrong and guide them on how to fix it. For instance, instead of just saying “Invalid input,” it’s much more helpful to try something like, “Please enter a valid email address, such as name@example.com.”
For visual accessibility, it’s important to make sure that the text and background have enough color contrast so that content is easy to read, especially for users with low vision or color blindness.
Following the WCAG guidelines, organizations should aim for a high contrast ratio between text and its background. Specifically, a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 is recommended for text and images of text. For example, light gray text on a white background would likely not meet this guideline because the colors are too similar in brightness, but using black or dark gray text would. This guideline applies to most text, but for larger text, like headings, a slightly lower contrast ratio of 3:1 is acceptable.
In addition, instead of using color alone to convey information, it’s good to consider pairing it with text labels or icons to make sure everyone can understand the content. For example, rather than just showing an error in red, you could also include an icon like an exclamation mark or the word “Error” to clarify the message.
When choosing an accessible color scheme, you might want to consider using color palettes for color blindness that provide enough differentiation between colors. Tools like contrast checkers can help make sure the color combinations on your organization’s site meet the WCAG 2.1 standards for readability.
Inclusive content creation doesn’t have to be tough—even small adjustments can make a big difference. Now that we’ve covered the five key areas of accessibility, let’s look at how to make content accessible in practice.
To make sure your content meets accessibility standards, performing an accessibility audit is a great start. Evaluating your website and existing digital content can help you identify areas that might need a little improvement.
Automated tools, such as WAVE or Lighthouse, can quickly analyze your site for common accessibility issues, like missing alt-text, low color contrast, and improper heading structure. These tools often generate reports that outline problem areas, giving you a clear starting point for improvements.
Using accessibility guidelines, like the WCAG or accessibility checklists, is always helpful. A checklist allows you to break down each component of accessibility—such as headings, color contrast, or forms—and confirm they meet the required standards.
To support image accessibility, adding alt-text and using descriptive link text is very helpful. To align with alt-text best practices means writing short, informative descriptions of images, allowing screen readers to describe the image to users with visual impairments. Alt-texts can also be useful when the images won’t load.
Similarly, descriptive link text provides context for links, making it clear where they lead. Rather than using phrases like “Click here,” try to come up with something more descriptive so everyone can easily navigate your content.
Including captions and transcripts for videos is a great way to support video accessibility. Captions make the spoken content visible on screen, assisting users who are deaf or hard of hearing and offering flexibility for viewing in different environments, such as noisy or very quiet places.
In addition, transcripts provide a full-text version of the video’s content, which can be especially useful for longer videos. They make it easier for viewers to follow along, pause, or revisit specific sections without re-watching the entire video. Transcripts are also helpful for non-native speakers, allowing them to review unfamiliar terms or complex information at their own pace. In addition, they are beneficial for SEO by making the content more searchable.
Using a clear and consistent heading structure is crucial for accessible formatting. Headings, like H1, H2, H3, help organize your content, making it easier for all users to navigate, especially those who rely on screen readers. These tools read the headings out loud in a logical order, allowing users to quickly jump to the section they’re interested in.
Proper use of headings also creates a visual content hierarchy that improves readability by making the page easier to scan. With text that easily scanable, readers can find what they need faster. A proper content structure will not only improve navigation but also boost engagement, as readers will quickly locate relevant information without getting lost in the sea of text.
Creating a seamless experience for users who rely on keyboard and voice commands can make navigation easier and more inclusive. To do that, organizations might want to consider making all interactive elements—such as buttons, forms, and menus—accessible using the Tab key or similar shortcuts.
Providing clear labels and descriptions can enhance voice command accessibility, making it easier for users to interact with the website by speaking commands. For example, labeling a button as “Submit order” instead of just “Submit” allows voice command users to activate that button simply by saying “Submit order.”
Testing your content regularly is key to maintaining an accessible website that works for everyone. Integrating accessibility testing into your content updates helps catch potential issues early, making sure your organization’s site remains compliant and user-friendly over time.
For example, performing regular checks with automated tools, like Axe or Lighthouse, can quickly highlight any new accessibility issues, while periodic manual testing offers a more comprehensive view of your site’s usability. This proactive approach to content accessibility testing builds a more inclusive site and reduces the need for large, time-consuming fixes down the line.
Making your content accessible is not just about meeting legal requirements—it’s about making sure your content is available and usable for everyone, regardless of their abilities. Accessible content doesn’t just promote inclusivity—it also boosts user experience, SEO, and audience reach.
By focusing on areas like text, multimedia, navigation, interactive content and colours, and implementing best practices for content accessibility, you make your website more inclusive, while also making it easier for everyone to navigate and understand. If you’d like to explore how Kontent.ai can help your organization stay aligned with content accessibility, feel free to schedule a demo.
