Web Usability and Accessibility

Paul Morgan       – NYC, NY
123Triad: Web Design & SEO Company

Web Usability and Accessibility

The terms “usability” and “accessibility” get passed around quite a lot in the web design industry. But few designers really know what each one means, and even fewer know how to make their sites adhere to both standards.

The main difference is that usability refers to a site’s convenience for regular users, while accessibility is specific to users with disabilities. Most of the rules for web usability apply to accessibility, but in much more stringent terms. For example, while a regular site has to be readable, an accessible site has to be very readable, even to a person with poor vision.

Users first: the common rule
Web design is ultimately oriented to the user, no matter how fancy or simple it is. Whether you’re designing for usability or accessibility, it’s never a good idea to load your site with fancy images that don’t contribute to your message. So the first rule is to keep things simple: start with the things that your reader will want to see, and add the decorative elements later on. Generally, the less “flowery” your site is, the better it fits into web usability and accessibility rules.

Determining user requirements
“Requirements elicitation” is an important step in designing a site for usability. Chances are you don’t really know what users are looking for the first time your site goes live. To make sure it caters to the right people, you’ll need to study your audience’s site behavior—the pages they tend to click, the links they tend to follow, how long they tend to stay. These tendencies give you a good idea of how to design your site so that it instinctively delivers exactly what your visitors are looking for.

Updating is key
Another thing worth remembering is that web users are always evolving. Some of their needs may be constant, but their wants never stay the same for very long. That’s why a site has to be constantly updated to keep up with their preferences. User surveys, market research, and other similar methods help you get to know your audience better, and create a site that’s both usable and accessible.

123Triad webdesign offers affordable custom website design. Our full service website design company only hires certified website designers. Please contact us today on 1-800-720-0816 for your next web site design project.

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