How many times have you confused them? 1, 10, None…?
In any case, it is wonderful for us to refresh our memory on these fashionable concepts. Above all, now that the coronavirus pandemic has triggered the use time of web and mobile apps worldwide. Both usability and web accessibility are two elements present in the digital universe, but let's see what each one consists of.
Prepared? Please don't confuse them anymore.
What differentiates usability from web accessibility
You have to see how often we have tended to think that usability and web accessibility are the same. Or worse still, the times that we have confused them.
To begin with, usability analyzes the behavior of users when they do a task in the web environment, while accessibility refers to universal access to a page. Usability is that tool that makes it possible for users to meet their goals with minimal effort. For example: visit app-promotion.net and navigate it without complications.
Some fundamental guidelines in usability are:
- Speed. It is vitally important because if it takes too long to load, visitors will leave the page. According to some statistics, "when a website takes more than 20 seconds to load, 80% of its visitors end up leaving the page before seeing it."
- Appearance. The cleaner and simpler, the easier it will be for users to navigate the page and find what they are looking for.
- The information. Descriptions, titles ... Everything contributes when it comes to finding what you are looking for.
- The user interface. It does not have to be a problem for the user. Rather, it must be intuitive.
- Readability. It will allow them to visit the website without any problem and enjoy the content.
Web accessibility, however, is universal in nature and takes into account that the circumstances of each user are different. From the language he speaks to his visual abilities.
Hence, accessibility is taken into account in government pages, where it seeks to give support to all citizens. The easier the understanding is, the better.
Characteristics of accessible experiences
Imagine that you need to do a banking operation through the web, but you don't understand what this means; you don't know how to do it. The bank manager tells you that you will have to ask someone else for help, but you don't have anyone else. Perhaps, for the youngest, the immediate answer to these doubts is found on the internet. Still, many other people, especially older people, do not have the necessary knowledge to solve it. It has a lot to do with web accessibility and user experience.
That is why we want to talk about how to design accessible experiences:
- First of all, you should know that accessibility seeks to make web pages usable by the largest number of people, regardless of their abilities or knowledge. It has a lot to do with what Tim Berners-Lee said: "The power of the web is in its universality."
- Accessibility not only has to do with the code, with the technical part. On the contrary, it has to be considered from the design side. It should be a built-in part of the project and not as something extra. The costly thing is to have a little or no accessible website.
- Increases the usability of the website, that is, to all users. With accessibility, websites meet web standards, adapt to mobile devices, attract more visitors, improve senior access and SEO, offer support for the international market, and reduce maintenance costs.
- Learning to have an accessible site has its costs, like learning any technology, but once you acquire the knowledge, it costs much less to maintain an accessible website than one that is not. In addition, we will comply with the Law, since it is mandatory in many countries (Spain and Portugal, among others).
Everything is related. The user experience demands accessibility, usability, and sustainability.
Guidelines to keep in mind on your website
Respect the following guidelines and reach more visitors within the network:
- Images. We advise you to use the alt attribute to describe the function of each visual element.
- Links. It is important to use content that makes sense, read out of context, and place the link.
- Multimedia. It is advisable to put subtitles, describe and transcribe the videos that you use on your website.
- Organize the pages. For this, strong headers and structures are used. You can layout them with CSS.
- Boards. They make it easy to read line after line and summarize the contents.