Many businesses understand that digital accessibility is not just about compliance with the law but constitutes a significant benefit for the bottom line.
User experience, for instance, has gained the astute attention of many tech businesses. Offering a simple, effective, and easily accessible experience is at the top of the list of every online enterprise.
Considering that 61 million adults in the United States live with some type of disability, according to the CDC, leaving this large swathe of the population unengaged with web content is a huge disadvantage for businesses in a highly competitive online environment.
Revenue benefits with web accessibility
EqualWeb, the leading digital accessibility development company, has evidence of this disadvantage. “We have gathered statistical data from our clients that accessible websites have recorded a significant increase of hundreds of thousands of visits compared to the period before they were accessible,” Yael Chen, Customer Relations Manager at EqualWeb, said.
“When looking at the big picture, businesses with web accessibility tools demonstrate social awareness for equality and solidarity, obtain more users, enhance their reputation, and optimize user experience,” Chen added.
Web accessibility enhancements
And while web accessibility is usually associated with those with visual impairments, there are other types of disabilities that require the removal of online barriers—such as motor, auditory, and cognitive impairments, dyslexia, and epilepsy. Accessibility standards in the non-discriminatory legal landscape require catering to these various disabilities, enabling equal access to everything from employment opportunities to the use of online services.
The Keyboard Navigation function, for example, enables individuals with paralysis to browse the web by using the Tab and Shift-Tab keys, navigating through the different elements on the page. This is a basic accessibility enhancement feature that, although supported by most browsers, is still absent from too many websites, or at best, implemented only partially.
EqualWeb AI ToolBar Tutorial
Website Accessibility ToolBar Demonstration by EqualWeb
Another group that would benefit from accessibility features is the elderly. EqualWeb’s auto-accessibility component for its variety of functions such as Text Magnifier, Voice Commands (for the hearing impaired), Dark and Light Contrast, Display Magnifier, Highlight Headers, and more, is a must-have tool that facilitates the browsing experience of seniors.
“Seniors normally have a significant purchasing power as well,” Chen stressed. “For a blind person web accessibility helps tenfold more than a person without disabilities since the former’s options to buy products in physical stores are limited and come with real-life difficulties. Once this said individual develops the habit of browsing on an accessible website he will highly likely become a loyal customer in subsequent years.”
Business reputation
Today, the demand for inclusion and equality is in an all-time high in the market. Regular customers care about a business’s social awareness almost as much as the quality of its product or service. Ignoring values such as solidarity, social equality, and inclusion of people with disabilities could stain an enterprise’s hard-earned reputation. “Customers online like to share their shopping experience in public, whether good or bad. The virtual environment makes it challenging for businesses to sustain a flawless public image. An accessible website will go a long way to avoid customer grievances,” Chen stipulated.
Booming market and risks
The global digital accessibility market is projected to register close to $50 billion by 2027, according to a recent study. EqualWeb has taken advantage of this booming market, expanding its operations with new offices in Tel Aviv, Netanya, and New York City.
However, the expansion of the market comes with risks. Many new companies are offering quick and automatic web accessibility solutions with the false pretense that they can fully elevate the website to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance requirements. Some of these components, or overlays, are marketed as a one-stop-shop solution that can fix all accessibility problems, at times offering these tools for free.
A business that falls for these marketing promises, while paying large sums of money to the accessibility providers, might still find itself handed a hefty lawsuit.
Solution
To tackle this problem, EqualWeb has developed a unique and comprehensive “hybrid” solution that provides both automatic and manual remediation services. This way, organizations can benefit from both the user-friendly and simple world of automated solutions and complete the process manually in places where automatic accessibility enhancements are not enough. The accessibility experts furthermore use the EqualWeb Monitor Scanner to periodically audit the website and maintain its high accessibility standards, remaining one step ahead of the law and meeting accessibility needs with the latest technological advancements.
Media ContactCompany Name: EqualWebContact Person: Erez BahatEmail: Send EmailCountry: IsraelWebsite: http://www.equalweb.com/
