Who had ever thought that sitting at our respective homes, we would be able to get things delivered right to our doorstep? With the convenience and accessibility that E-Commerce brings, the concept of e-commerce stores has become extremely popular. E-commerce website accessibility is crucial and it ensures that you can add value for those who battle with disabilities in any form.
Ecommerce site accessibility can not only improve the experience for those who are disabled, but it can in turn improve complete user engagement. Website accessibility is a major ethical obligation in various jurisdictions and also a pertinent legal obligation. After all, everybody deserves a seamless shopping experience, right?
Key Features that can Improve Accessibility of E-commerce Website
Accessibility as a concept means to improve the overall user experience for every individual irrespective of their physical affiliation. Some of the key features that are imperative for any e-commerce website are:
User Friendly Navigation
The first and most important element that you have to focus on for improving the accessibility of e-commerce websites is user-friendly navigation. A clear and simple navigation that is easily understood by screen readers and assistive technology can work wonders. One such component that is highly pertinent in this case is placing the elements in logical order. This means that the payment page should not come even before you select the shipping address.
Another important element that can add to the user-friendly navigation is none other than having the option to skip navigation links. This means that users should have the leverage to skip the unnecessary content and directly head out to the page that they deem to apply to them. Some people completely depend on keyboards as they do not have mobile accessibility. In such cases, ensuring that the site allows easy accessibility across mobile phones is also crucial.
Responsive Design
One of the basic tenets of e-commerce website accessibility is none other than working on a responsive design. This means that the website is easily usable across various devices and screen sizes without any problems. Usually, people rely on various devices when it comes to accessing websites. This could be across mobiles, laptops, and even tablets. An e-commerce website that is responsive in design can easily fit across various screen sizes ruining the experience for the users.
For example, users who have visual impairments need extra help in the form of larger font sizes. They also need buttons that are easy to click and at the same time do not lag any kind of responsiveness. This can help to make the content readable and at the same time guarantee maximum efficiency.
Color Contrast
For any e-commerce website having the right color contrast could be a game changer. Having the right color contrast can have a high impact on readability and this can attract more people to your e-commerce website. Having a high contrast between the text and the background can help you to improve your readability. This could be highly effective for those who have any kind of visual impairments like color blindness. It is always recommended that the color contrast ratio should be 4:5:1 for normal text. However, if you want to include larger text, then the ratio should be 3:1.
It is also suggested that if you want your e-commerce website to do well, you have to make sure that you do not use only one single color. This can create a boring undertone and take away the efficacy of your e-commerce site. At the same time, using too many colors can also be a challenge. Drawing the right balance between the two figures is crucial in this context.
Alternative Text for Images
Not everybody can make sense of the images, hence adding alternative text for the same is equally important. It is quite natural that the central theme for any e-commerce website is images and videos as they can substantiate the product you are selling. However, people with visual disabilities cannot always make sense of the same. Every product and image should come with a descriptive alternative text. This can help the screen readers to make sense of what exactly you are trying to portray.
If you have included any kind of product demonstration videos then make sure that they come with transcription. For those who were unable to make sense of what was being said in these videos, the transcription could come in handy. Along with helping individuals with any kind of disability, this feature could be highly effective and can help you improve your search engine ranking as well.
Accessibility in Shopping Carts and Checkout
E-Commerce site accessibility does not mean that you only make the surfing process accessible. To make sure that you can help with the entire shopping experience you have to make the shopping carts and the checkout process accessible as well. If you make the checkout process completely inaccessible and highly complex it is going to bring down the conversion rate and hamper your economic growth. You could add a very interactive progress indicator which could help users to understand exactly where they are placed in the checkout process.
Accessibility in the checkout process means that the site does not require every user to create a unique profile. This would mean getting entangled in unnecessary information. Instead, they should be able to create the account even with the help of assistive technology. Making the payment procedure easy and yet secure can improve the accessibility factor for your e-commerce website.
Conclusion…
E-commerce website accessibility is the current norm and they have to be taken care of. The internet is a safe spot for all and convenience while shopping is something that we all deserve. To make sure that you can add to the user experience, always research your audience analytics well. This will help you to understand exactly which areas you are still struggling with and how you can work on those areas as well.
Key Takeaways
E-commerce website accessibility will help you to increase the footfall of your website and can substantially have an impact on user engagement.
A very common feature of your accessible e-commerce website is having user-friendly navigation. This means that users do not have to follow a complex procedure.
Another very important feature that such an accessible e-commerce website should have is a responsive design.
Work on the color contrast and understand that high contrast between text and background is often preferable because of the impact it creates.
Adding alternative text for every image and transcription for product demo videos could be highly effective.
Make sure that you are improving the accessibility of your shopping cart as well as your payment procedure.
