An increase in consumption (demand) means there has to be an increase in supply.
With ever-increasing demand and reliance of things over the internet during the coronavirus pandemic, it has become extremely vital for each and every company to become virtually available and increase their website accessibility.
In this article, we will discuss 5 of the most proven ways to improve your website’s accessibility so that none of your potential visitors miss out on what you intend to offer.
Be ADA compliant
Signed into law by President George Bush in 1990, ADA stands for Americans with Disabilities Act and is one of the most important laws concerning accessibility and civil rights of individuals with disabilities.
ADA Compliance also concerns the accessibility of websites for individuals who have restricted life activities due to disabilities.
There’s a common disbelief that ADA applies to only large corporations.
But the reality is quite different.
It applies to all sorts of organizations as long as they have over 15 employees.
So basically, ADA affects
-
- Places of entertainment like theaters, movie theaters, and concert halls
- Restaurants and eateries
- Small and medium businesses of all types
- Large enterprises
- Retail stores
- Local government offices, employment agencies, and labor unions
Of course, in 1990, the act did not predict the magnitude of the use of the internet for various business and non-business related activities.
But in 2017, there was a clear consensus that was passed and court rulings have agreed that websites, internet portals, and online stores also need to be ADA compliant for ease of access to people with disabilities.
One can check how accessible their website is through a web accessibility checker.
Understand color theory
As we discussed, with the rising use and adoption of the internet, more and more businesses are making their presence online.
However, poor web design can cause more harm than help. A poorly designed site can confuse customers, cause frustration, and in some cases undo the goodwill your business has generated offline.
Naturally, companies want to make their web presence highly impactful.
Though not much talked about, there is a huge impact associated with the colors that the companies use for their visual communications
Big corporations such as Facebook, IBM, American Express, etc. have used Blue as their color for their logo design as it represents professionalism, trust, loyalty, and power.
Likewise, different colors have a different psychological impact on a perceiver’s mind.
Understanding color theory is extremely vital for organizations who are planning to create collaterals that can be used to send across to their prospective clients.
A lot many careers have been made for the people who understand colors and make use of the entire spectrum of the color wheel for their client’s benefit depending upon their market and geography.
For example, a particular color that might showcase confidence and trust in one particular country might showcase different moods in another.
This is why a lot of focus has to be made on what color schemes to choose for your company’s collaterals such as brochures, flyers, banners, and websites for this very reason.
Use videos to build loyalty
Viewers retain 95% of the data when they consume content in a video format compared to 10% when consuming in a text.
Whatever your website is about, be it tutorials, recipes, DIY, etc,
One thing you can do to build customer loyalty with videos is to create high-quality video content that delivers value.
You do not really need a professional crew to make videos.
At the end of the day, all that matters is the kind of value you’re delivering in your content.
Either you can simply record them yourselves with the help of a simple tripod
OR
You can use video templates that can enhance the aesthetics of your videos to a significant extent.
Make a crisp and strong headline on your homepage
Your website’s headline will make the first impression on the user.
Be crisp, be specific, and to the point.
Let’s say you’re a content writer and have a website of your own.
The following examples will showcase what good and bad headlines are
Good headline: I help people increase their website traffic by creating SEO content for their blogs.
Bad headline: I have an eye for writing good content and can offer content writing services.
Understood the difference?
In the first example, you’re being extremely specific on what you do and how you can help the prospect.
The second example is completely the opposite, vague and generic.
Another good example is BrandMentions.
What they do is, search the entire internet to find out what particular brand or person has been mentioned on the internet how many times and on what platforms.
They also give a comparison between brands and their number of mentions on the internet.
Let’s have a look at their headline below:
“We dig every corner of the internet to find all the relevant mentions about anyone or anything”
Crisp, specific, and to the point. No confusions whatsoever!
Embed live chat
With the rise in WhatsApp culture, more and more people have gotten comfortable with the institution of chatting be it for business or casual purposes for that matter.
The same can apply to your business’ website as well.
Yes, ‘contact us’ pages are necessary for them to understand where your business is located and to reach out to you over an email or phone call.
However, you can make it a lot easier for the user if you embed a live chat window on your website as well.
It’s quick, it’s efficient and it saves a lot of time for both the user and your company thereby increasing your website’s accessibility.
A research from Forrester suggested that 44% of online consumers say that having questions answered by a live person while in the middle of an online purchase is one of the most important features a Web site can offer.
Services like LiveChat, ChatBot, Sendinblue, etc. are some of the major players in the live chat territory which you can use to enhance your website’s user experience.
Wrapping up
Having an accessible website is extremely crucial for any sort of business today.
If you don’t have an accessible website, there’s a fair amount of chance that your business can be sued which can attract lawsuits and fines.
Apart from that, there are also other reasons to have an accessible website.
Not only does it attract more visitors, but it makes the user experience top-notch, making people feel welcomed, helps with SEO rankings and most importantly, helps your business grow, gain, and retain more customers.
Improve your accessibility, improve your business!
Founder Dinis Guarda
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