Each design always consists of two aspects. One is functional while the other is emotional. The first one will allow users to have better interaction with the brand and design. The second one helps them connect and identify themselves with the brand. When used together, they can lead to better website traffic and brand awareness.
The inclusive design actually focuses on combining those aspects in order to make your website visible to everyone. The most precise explanation of the word inclusive is to give each person a chance to be included. It doesn’t matter whether or not they have any disability or they simply find it difficult to do what others think it’s easy.
Having an excellent inclusive design on your website means that you managed to provide a pleasant experience for everybody who comes across your website or mobile app. This doesn’t necessarily include people with disabilities but also someone who has anxiety, dyslexia or any other condition.
You might be surprised, but the statistic shows that there are one billion people in the world who experience some form of disability. This includes both minor and big inabilities, but either way, 15% of the world’s population cannot access your website if it’s not inclusive. This means that no matter how good your SEO strategy might be, you won’t be able to expect first-page ranking.
How to Create Inclusive Web Design?
Creating an inclusive web design is not hard when you know which way to go. There are certain things you will be able to do by yourself, but you may want to seek professional help for full optimization.
Make it as simple as possible
Oftentimes, we are tempted to add different plug-ins, carousels and flashy images to our home page and blog posts. All of that can be interesting, but at the same time overwhelming. Avoid too many banners and colorful visuals since they can only stress out users who are already irritated and maybe anxious. Keep everything simple, less complex and straight to the point.
Provide clarity and variety of options
Each person understands and interprets things differently. Therefore, if you want your web designer to send any message through your website, it should be crystal clear. You cannot leave things obscure, because there are people who have trouble with understanding. They might need your full support to complete certain actions at your website.
Aside from that, you need to give options. The basic example is related to customer service. You cannot force someone to call your customer representatives. Instead, provide alternatives like email or online chat because there are people who are not comfortable talking to strangers.
Post neatly written content
Keep in mind somebody cannot understand complex phrases nor they can understand your content if it’s not written concisely. If you want to implement the inclusive design to your content, you should always use bullets and numbering to separate information or break your text into different paragraphs. Don’t use sentences that are too long. Many people won’t be able to understand them fully, and you will only make confusion.
Don’t change usual headings like contact us or about us into something you find more attractive. There are people who can only use a keyboard and they navigate through the website with a search button. It would be impossible for them to find those pages if you change them.
As you can see, there are many things you can do all alone to improve inclusive web design. For the rest, you want to find a proper agency that will do the job for you and open up many new possibilities that inclusive web design can bring. Implementing an inclusive design to your website is not only an ethical thing to do, but it will help you spread the reach of your brand.
