Building an Accessible Web

One of the most crucial components of website development is ensuring that the user experience (UX) is as seamless as possible. When considering users with disabilities that could impact their internet browsing experience, this becomes especially important. Robust accessibility features can often be the difference between someone using your site as intended or closing the tab in frustration. 

With over 20 years of experience creating custom websites, we’ve had front row seats to web accessibility’s transformation from an afterthought into an essential - and even mandated - component of modern website design. 

But what does web accessibility actually mean, and how do we go about incorporating it into the sites we make? Let’s check in with the seasoned staff of Websolutions.ca to learn all about what web accessibility really is, why it matters, and how we contribute to building a more inclusive and user-friendly web with every site we build.

For us, an accessible website is one that anyone can use to the fullest extent with minimal fuss or barriers in their way. Some common accessibility concerns that might create these barriers for certain people include visual, auditory, motor and cognitive disabilities, and each of these comes with its own subset of conditions that all have different needs to address. 

With such a broad list to keep in mind, it’s no small task to ensure that every part of a site - from the colours and written content, the placement of buttons and images, and the overarching design - remains cohesive and fully accessible. It’s a tall order, and one we don’t take lightly. 

From the very start of a project, accessibility is a top priority for our programming team. For Victor and Patrick, features like alt-text (descriptions of images for screen readers to say aloud), keyboard navigation support, and language toggles have become commonplace. These features make it easier for those with visual or motor disabilities to interact with a site’s content using sound and minimal physical movement. 

Another way of implementing accessibility is a virtual tool named ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications), which helps assistive technologies like screen readers understand the structure of a web page, allowing them to provide more accurate context to the user that they couldn’t access otherwise. 

Victor also brought up a few lesser-known “background” features that many people might not even realize are there. A skip navigation button, for example, allows users who navigate with their keyboard to skip repetitive content like headers and jump right to the site’s main section. Voice recognition, video captions or subtitles, and customizable text options are other examples of less common but equally impactful features that, while not necessarily useful to everyone, can make all the difference to those who do need them.  

Of course, web accessibility isn’t only happening in the background; the visual elements of a web page are just as impactful. When Juan and Vanessa plan out the look of a site, they need to consider everything from the colour palette and contrast, backgrounds and images, typography and page layout, while still making sure it all comes together in a way that’s visually appealing and in-line with the client’s vision. 

There are lots of different pieces that need to align when creating an accessible website, but the end result is a functional and inclusive online environment that more people get to experience, and to us, that makes it all worth it.  

There’s no denying it; we’re living in a digital world. So much of our lives revolve around the internet, whether it’s for work, entertainment, or keeping in touch with friends and family. Many modern businesses and services operate exclusively online, and you’d be hard pressed to find employment these days that doesn’t entail at least a surface-level understanding of the internet. 

That’s why accessibility features are such a big deal: they allow anyone, regardless of their age, the device they’re using, their technical know-how, or their personal capabilities, to participate in our digital society on their own terms.

The great thing about accessibility features is that they benefit everyone. Our whole team agreed that when done correctly, these features are unobtrusive and only serve to elevate the UX and improve the overall browsing experience. Accessibility doesn’t favour any one user over another; it simply opens up more doors for more people, without closing the existing ones.  

Beyond the inherent benefits of widening access to the internet, websites with more inclusive designs tend to have better SEO scores, meaning they appear higher in search engines like Google. Between its many benefits and the increasing awareness of its importance, the concept of web accessibility has clearly become mainstream in 2024. 

In fact, the importance of accessibility has prompted many countries to introduce laws and recommendations designed to make web accessibility the standard. The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are both testaments to how web accessibility has been incentivised and regulated, which further drives home just how normalized it truly is. 

And that’s a good thing! The internet should be for everyone, and Websolutions.ca will never stop striving to build a web that’s accessible to all - one website at a time!

We’re proud of all the work we do here at Websolutions.ca, but our commitment to making the web a more inclusive and welcoming space is something that we find especially gratifying. After two decades spent building over 500 custom websites for a host of different clients and industries, we’re no strangers to accessibility and the impact it can have on those who rely on it. 

Our commitment to accessibility is reflected in the work we do. For the most basic features like keyboard navigation and alt text, the Parks NB site is a great example. Users of this site can easily navigate through menus, or skip ahead to the relevant content, using nothing but the Tab and Enter keys. The home page’s interactable elements also feature highlighted borders to indicate what is currently selected, and the colours and images are clear, consistent and unobtrusive, while still pleasing to look at. 

Another great example of robust accessibility can be seen on the AvenueNB site. Since the whole purpose of AvenueNB is to help find employment for individuals with a disability, uncompromising accessibility for them was non-negotiable. 

The AvenueNB site similarly contains keyboard navigation and alt text, but is also designed to clearly display contact information and options for assistance, meaning users are never left wondering how to find the page they’re looking for, or how to reach out if they need help. 

In addition, all written content on the site is accompanied by ASL videos, and the entire site (including the ASL videos) can also be viewed in French using a simple, clearly labeled toggle at the top of the page. To top it off, the site’s layout is widely compatible with different screen sizes, meaning those with smaller screens can still interact with the site in a meaningful way. 

For yet another example, look no further than the UGONB site we completed earlier in 2024. While this site doesn’t have any standout accessibility features we haven’t already discussed, most of its pages score a 100 on accessibility! This was achieved by keeping accessibility top-of-mind throughout the project, from design concept to backend creation. 

And while these are just a few standout examples, accessibility features can be found in just about every recent site we’ve built - including our own! 

Suffice it to say, we care a lot about accessibility on the web, and we’re always trying to push the boundaries of accessibility further and further in our work. It’s 2024, and the internet is no longer a luxury - anyone and everyone should be able to participate in our digital society. At Websolutions.ca, we won’t stop our mission to create an accessible web until every last barrier to accessibility has been toppled!