As we’ve discussed accessibility is an important part of all the work we do. There are a lot of elements that go into accessible web design but there are some places to start so that it becomes second nature to you when building a site (and when assisting someone in building theirs).
Reading
Check out our guide related to web design and the one related to accessibility:
If you have time peruse the WordPress Accessibility Handbook for ways to approach accessible design while building in WordPress.
Activity
There are several things I want you to do as you get more familiar with the principles of accessible web design.
Part 1: Check Your Site
Go back to your site and review your site for some of the main accessibility features. Be sure to check the following:
- Do all your images have alt text?
- Is all your text legible? (i.e. good contrast, large enough font, etc).
- Do any pages need headings?
- Do you have any naked links or poorly descriptive links?
Part 2: Try an Accessibility Checker
Install and try out an Accessibility Checker plugin and see what else it turns up.
Part 3: Make a Bad Example
Creating a bad example can be a great way to demonstrate understanding of a concept. For this task I want you to create a page that is a hyperbolic demonstration of bad web design. Fill it with whatever content you want (feel free to make it clear it is an example of bad web design), just make sure you take this opportunity to perform bad practice across many different aspects (e.g. colors, links, hierarchy, media etc.).
Part 4: Write a Post
Write a post! I’d love for you to address:
- Some things you still have questions about or need more clarification on.
- Is there anything the accessibility checker revealed that you couldn’t modify?
- Link to the “bad web design” page and talk about all the things you did to make it as inaccessible as possible.