Benefits of Accessible Design Flashcards
What is the benefit of accessible design for people with disabilities?
Accessibility Improves People’s Lives.
Accessible designs make life easier for people with disabilities. Or, in some cases, it’s even more dramatic: accessibility makes things possible that would be otherwise literally impossible. In this sense, accessibility isn’t just nice to have, it’s necessary.
How does accessibility improve public perception for businesses and organizations?
If you have an accessible web site, it shows that you—and the organization you work for—are committed to basic ideals of equal opportunity and fairness. You can leverage your accessible web site as a differentiator among your competitors or peers who may have less accessible web sites. You show that you care.
How does accessibility improve compatibility for businesses and organizations?
Your web site will be compatible with a wider variety of web-enabled devices, because designing for accessibility requires that you pay attention to the robustness of your web site in many platforms, browsers, and devices using a variety of input methods.
How does accessibility improve search engine optimization for businesses and organizations?
Many of the techniques required for accessibility involve smart use of semantic markup in the text and in the HTML, which also improves the ability of search engines to find and index your work with the appropriate keywords. Your users and potential customers will find your web site more easily.
How does accessibility increase your customer base for businesses and organizations?
People with disabilities have money to spend. If they can access your web site, and if they like what you have to sell, they’ll probably buy it. If they can’t access your web site, it doesn’t matter much if they like what you have to sell, because they can’t go through the steps of purchasing anything. Accessibility benefits your bottom line.
How does accessibility increases your eligibility for funding as businesses and organizations?
If you do any contract work with government entities, chances are that you will be required to agree to make your deliverables accessible, because governments are often required to write those conditions in the requests for proposals. If you know how to make your deliverables accessible, and if you have a track record to prove that you have already done so in the past, you will be more likely to get the contract.
How does accessibility helps you avoid lawsuits for businesses and organizations?
In many areas of the world, creating inaccessible web sites is against the law. The legal picture isn’t always straightforward, but people with disabilities have rights, and they might decide to sue your company if the web site is not accessible. That’s bad press, a huge expense, and it’s totally avoidable if you create an accessible web site in the first place. Accessibility keeps you out of court.
What is the benefit of accessible design for people without disabilities?
Accessible designs improve access for all, puts less burden on family members and helpers, and is an opportunity to befriend more people with disabilities.
