By:
Grace Williamson 
E-commerce has become an essential retail industry aspect, providing shoppers with accessibility and ease. Store owners must ensure their platforms are accessible to all users, even those with disabilities. Ensuring accessibility for the online store improves the user experience and expands the customer base.
In this blog, you'll discover seven key tips for making your e-commerce store accessible to all shoppers. With these tips, you can create an inclusive and seamless shopping experience for everyone. For instance, providing alternative text (alt text) for product images makes finding the product they're looking for easier.
It can also benefit customers who are not visually impaired, since they can better understand the product they're looking for. Alt text also helps with SEO, allowing search engines to read and index images.
Website accessibility allows users with disabilities, such as visual, hearing, or cognitive impairments, to operate and understand a website. These people take help in navigating the website by using some assistive technologies like voice recording software, screen readers, and switch interfaces.
The accessible website includes keyboard navigation with the help of which people with disabilities can easily access. And to achieve an accessible website, the key factor is to conduct an audit. This will help in finding out the barriers to accessibility on the website. Here are some measures to ensure that your e-commerce website is accessible:
Images play a vital role in e-commerce but can be a barrier for visually impaired users. Include alt text for all images, describing the content or purpose of the image. Alternative text enables screen readers and other assistive technologies to convey the information to visually impaired users, ensuring they have an equivalent experience.
It also helps optimize SEO, as search engines can identify what an image contains and rank the page accordingly. It's important to provide concise and accurate alt text to prevent confusion and ensure the best user experience. Adding a description to an image, helps everyone better understand what the image represents.
For instance, if you include "Fresh blueberry muffin with blueberries on top" as the alt text for a picture of a blueberry muffin, it will make it easier for visually impaired individuals who use screen readers to navigate through your website.
Bonus Read: Basics of Color Contrast for Web Accessibility
Hyperlinks are an integral part of e-commerce websites, but they should be accessible to everyone. Instead of generic phrases like "click here," use clear and descriptive link text that provides context about the linked page or content.
It helps disable users navigate the site more efficiently and improves the overall user experience. When descriptive link text is used, users can understand the link's content without clicking it. This accessibility feature helps ensure that all users, regardless of physical or cognitive abilities, can navigate the website efficiently.
Some users rely on keyboards for navigation, so it's crucial to make your e-commerce site keyboard accessible. It is essential to construct a website, accessible to users with motor disabilities or those who cannot use a mouse to ensure inclusivity.
All interactive elements like links, buttons, and form fields should be easily accessible and operable through the keyboard alone. It is essential to implement keyboard accessibility as approximately 5-10% of adults have difficulty using a mouse.
To navigate through interactive elements, use the tab key and activate them using the enter key. Be sure to provide visual cues to indicate which element is currently selected.
Nowadays, audio and video clips are widely used in e-commerce, but they may cause difficulties for people with hearing impairments. Captions or transcripts should be included in video and audio content to ensure everyone can access the information presented.
This way, even individuals with hearing impairments can engage with your multimedia content. It's akin to providing a written translation of a spoken language. Everyone can understand the text, regardless of whether they can speak the language.
Similarly, providing captions or transcripts makes audio and video content accessible to everyone. It allows everyone to gain the same knowledge, regardless of their hearing abilities. It is an important step towards creating an inclusive digital environment.
Website performance is crucial for all users, including those with disabilities. Optimize your ecommerce store accessibility for speed and responsiveness, ensuring that pages load quickly and are compatible with various devices and screen sizes. A fast and responsive website enhances the user experience for everyone, including those who rely on assistive technologies.
For example, the page loading speed should be optimized so that pages with images, video, and audio content load quickly, and alternative text should be provided for images and other media to increase accessibility. The content organization should be user-friendly for ease of access to enhance the user experience.
The security and encryption of user information should also be a top priority. Additionally, providing clear and concise calls to action will help users understand what steps to take next.
Regularly conduct user testing and solicit feedback from individuals with disabilities to ensure your e-commerce store is truly accessible. Involve people with various disabilities in usability testing and gather their insights on any accessibility barriers they encounter.
Actively listen to their feedback and make necessary improvements to enhance the accessibility of your store continually. It is like a chef regularly tasting their dishes to make sure the flavors are balanced and the portion sizes are appropriate.
They do so if any adjustments are to be made to achieve the best flavor and presentation. Similarly, accessibility testing should be done regularly to ensure that the store is accessible and easy for all customers and that any obstacles are identified and addressed.
To make your website accessible, implement features such as clear and consistent navigation, proper heading structure, descriptive alt tags for images, and scalable fonts. Along with, ensure compatibility with screen readers and assistive technologies, and make sure your website meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 standards.
For instance, you can add text transcripts for audio and video content, describe links, and provide keyboard navigation options to ensure complete accessibility of your website.
It will ensure that users with vision impairments, auditory impairments, motor impairments, and other disabilities can access and use your website with ease. Additionally, it will help you gain a larger audience and ensure that your website complies with the necessary regulations.
By implementing these seven essential tips, you can make your ecommerce store accessible for every shopper. Now you have understood how important it is to incorporate web accessibility audits and keep video accessibility considerations in mind for better e-commerce visibility.
Our e-commerce website accessibility services can assist you with the best:
Also Read: How to Add an Audio Description to the Video?
All the considerations mentioned above will assist your e-commerce website accessibility and its site design accessibility while also enhancing the user experience.
With e-commerce accessibility, businesses can enhance their efforts to create inclusive and handy digital experiences for all users. These practices and services promote equal access, comply with accessibility guidelines, and improve the overall user experience for individuals with disabilities.
Prioritize website accessibility, provide alternative text for images, use clear and descriptive link text, ensure keyboard accessibility, create captions and transcripts for multimedia, optimize website performance, and conduct user testing and feedback.
By adopting an inclusive approach, you not only provide equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities but also enhance the overall user experience for all shoppers. Remember, accessibility is not a one-time task; it's an ongoing commitment to ensuring inclusivity and equal access for every customer.
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