Designers follow these patterns to design websites that are easy to use and understand. Key components such as a navigation bar and a search bar are generally at the top of a page. Following the visual hierarchy principle ensures the designer creates a familiar layout. Good design shouldn't make a user think more than they have to. A familiar layout reduces the cognitive load and makes the experience more enjoyable. This improves the overall experience for everyone, including those with cognitive difficulties, and those who use a screen reader to navigate.
How headings make a difference in accessibility
Another way to establish a visual hierarchy is through the use of headers. Headers make it easier to understand the content of a page by separating content into sections. When scanning a page in either a Z- or F-pattern, a heading will pull the focus and help users understand the context. Headings have a natural hierarchy, and following the hierarchy, H1, H2, H3, and so on, it's easier to understand how topics fit together. Plus, when using a hierarchy in headings, it's easier for someone using a screen reader to navigate between sections.
How accessibility improves design
In 2010, Google popularised mobile-first design as a development method. Mobile-first design is when a website is designed for a mobile device first and then scaled up for larger devices later. In 2023, New Zealanders had more mobile phones than people, with over 6.5 million mobile connections and 4.99 million internet users. It’s safe to assume the majority of internet users access the web on their mobiles some of the time. Essentially, by considering mobile design upfront, developers can consider the core components and functionalities and create them for a smaller screen. Conversely, designing desktop-first requires removing elements or squashing everything to fit on a smaller screen. This approach can mean organisations need to either create a separate mobile website or completely rebuild it. The limitation in size influences better design, as developers have to be more specific in what they choose and why. This results in improved navigation and usability due to tighter restraints.
At Catalyst, we supported an organisation that wanted to transform its desktop-first website into something more modern and accessible. We embedded accessibility into our design approach at the very beginning of our process. Our holistic approach to accessibility and design delivered a visually attractive and accessible result by designing mobile-first.
How web accessibility impacts user experience
Ensuring your website is accessible means you’re making your content available to a wider range of people. Considering design without accessibility impacts a company’s reputation, as inclusiveness is an expectation for brands, especially when 16% of the world’s population has a disability.
Accessibility improves the user experience for everyone as it enhances the usability and functionality. Following accessibility guidelines and best practices, you can make your website clear, consistent, easy to navigate, and responsive. You can also reduce errors, bugs, and frustrations while providing more options and choices for your users. Therefore, accessibility drives good UX and provides value to all users.
Web accessibility services in New Zealand
In New Zealand, government organisations need their services to be available to everyone, so they must comply with the Web Usability Standard. Catalyst is an approved supplier for web accessibility on the DIA Marketplace, and we're experienced in working with government requirements to improve accessibility. As part of our accessibility services, we enable organisations to improve their user experience by providing both UX and accessibility audits. To support one government agency on its accessibility journey, we audited its website, and through this, we were able to provide valuable insights by:
- reviewing each page against each user persona provided.
- user personas are examples of the type of user a website has, and each persona interacts with the website differently depending on their needs.
- identifying main themes for issues, including where they were, providing examples, and suggesting solutions to improve accessibility and UX.
- his included a compliance percentage rating against the WCAG 2.2 AA criterion for each page.
As an organisation, you may know some of your usability issues from user feedback or by experiencing them yourself. However, an audit can both catch areas you may not know about and provide suggestions to improve accessibility. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has an auditing tool that you can use to run an audit on your website. However, the tool is for experienced accessibility evaluators. If you don’t have the resources to perform an audit or act on any findings, our web accessibility services can enable you to achieve your accessibility goals.
Contact us to learn how to improve web accessibility in your design today.
