As our lives become increasingly digital, it’s important to remember that not everyone experiences the internet in the same way.
Digital inclusion is about ensuring that everyone—regardless of their abilities—can access and interact with websites, apps, and online content easily and effectively.
So, what can businesses do to promote digital inclusion and make sure no one is left behind? Let’s explore some best practices that you can start implementing today.
1. Understand the Principles of Web Accessibility
To create a more inclusive digital environment, you first need to understand the basics of web accessibility. The key principles here, also known as the POUR principles, are pretty simple. Your website should be:
- Perceivable
- Operable
- Understandable
- Robust
But what does that mean in practice?
It means making sure that your content is available to everyone, whether they’re using a screen reader, keyboard, or mobile device. It means ensuring that interactive elements like forms and buttons are easy to navigate. And it means building a site that works across different browsers and devices.
Familiarizing yourself with accessibility guidelines like WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is a great place to start.
2. Design Websites for Accessibility
When it comes to accessibility, design matters—a lot. From the colors you choose to the way you lay out your content, everything should be considered with accessibility in mind.
Use high-contrast colors to ensure text is readable for users with visual impairments, and make sure fonts are large enough to be legible. Always provide alt text for images so that screen readers can describe them to visually impaired users. And don’t forget about mobile! More and more people access the web via smartphones, so a mobile-friendly design is crucial for digital inclusion.
3. Ensure Content Is Easy to Navigate
Have you ever visited a website and felt completely lost? That’s what happens when content isn’t organized well—and it’s a huge barrier to accessibility.
A good website should be easy to navigate, especially for users with disabilities. One of the simplest ways to ensure this is by making your site keyboard-friendly. Not everyone uses a mouse, so it’s important that all interactive elements (like links, buttons, and forms) can be accessed using only a keyboard. Adding visible focus indicators (which highlight what’s currently selected) also helps users know where they are on the page.
4. Incorporate Clear, Simple Language
Let’s face it: nobody enjoys reading complex jargon or wading through long-winded sentences. Clear, simple language isn’t just more user-friendly—it’s also more inclusive.
By writing in plain language, you’re making your content more accessible to everyone, including people with cognitive disabilities or non-native speakers. Break up long paragraphs, use bullet points, and keep sentences short and to the point. The easier it is for people to understand your content, the better their overall experience will be.
5. Make Multimedia Accessible
Videos and audio content are a great way to engage your audience, but they also need to be accessible. That means providing captions for your videos and transcripts for any audio content.
Captions benefit not only users with hearing impairments but also anyone who prefers watching videos without sound—like someone scrolling through social media in a quiet library or a noisy café. By adding these features, you’re making your content more versatile and usable for a wider range of people.
6. Ensure PDFs Are Accessible
Many businesses use PDFs to share information, but they can often be tricky for users with disabilities to access. That’s where PDF remediation comes in: the process of making your PDFs accessible to everyone.
This might involve adding tags to structure the content properly or making sure that the text can be read by screen readers. If your website includes downloadable PDFs, it’s important to take these steps to ensure that everyone can access the information you’re sharing.
7. Test Accessibility with Online Tools
You don’t have to guess whether your website is truly accessible. There are plenty of online tools that can test your website’s accessibility and point out areas for improvement.
These tools can scan your site and identify common issues, such as missing alt text, low color contrast, or navigation problems. And they don’t just stop at identifying problems—they often provide solutions, so you know exactly what to fix. Regularly running these tests ensures that your site remains accessible, even as you make updates or add new content.
Final Thoughts: Building an Inclusive Digital Presence
Promoting digital inclusion is about more than just meeting legal requirements—it’s about creating a better experience for everyone who interacts with your website or digital platform. By implementing these best practices, businesses can make their websites more user-friendly, accessible, and inclusive.
Start with small steps, like improving navigation or adding alt text, and work your way up to more advanced features. Each change you make brings you closer to creating a truly inclusive digital space. In the long run, that’s a win not only for your users but also for your business.