Developing and deploying an ecommerce site can require months of an organization’s time, featuring an incredible number of to-do’s which can’t be pushed past post go-live. There are, too, items that can be tabled, depending upon factors such as timeline, budget or resources, and one retailers are tabling, (and in turn, often ignoring) far too often is accessibility.
Why adhere?
Adhering to the standards of accessibility as outlined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and WAI-ARIA ensures not only that an organization is providing all of its users with an equally friendly experience, but that web crawlers such as Google can “read” the content as well. The primary goal of the WCAG as governed by the W3C process, is to “…provide a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations and governments internationally”. While the WCAG refers to static content, the WAI-ARIA or Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite was created more specifically to address dynamic content, “…to instruct developers on how to create universally friendly interfaces.” Information on both WCAG and the WAI-ARIA can be found at www.w3.org.
7 Accessibiliy Tech Tips
There are 7 key aspects to any accessibility initiative which an organization should abide by in order to develop a user, screen reader and web-crawler friendly site.
Done properly and concurrent with site development and pre-deployment, ensuring your ecommerce site is accessible to every user will not only increase organic search results but more importantly demonstrate a commitment to ethical practices and all customers.
The following outlines 7 ways in which you can achieve: