Customers are abandoning websites due to lack of accessibility. Is your business losing money?
Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2024 10:00 am
Moema Vianna
Aug 26, 22 | 5 min read
Reading time: 4 minutes
Not being able to access information online is a problem that occurs every day with millions of people with disabilities around the world.
15% of the world's population experiences some form of disability. While accessibility has become a priority for many companies, we still have a long way to go in terms of digital accessibility.
A survey by the English company Click-Away sweden email address Pound showed that 69% of respondents have already abandoned websites due to lack of accessibility. In addition, 86% said that if online stores were accessible, they would spend more.
A harsh truth for businesses: those who don't think about giving people free access to information are losing money.
Digital accessibility means breaking down barriers on the Internet to benefit people with special needs . In other words, it is the ability of a virtual experience to enable users to understand the content, regardless of whether the person's disability is visual, auditory, motor or cognitive.
According to a 2020 study by WebAIM , 98% of websites and tools are designed without taking into account the limitations of people with disabilities and end up offering them a poor and incomplete experience.
Where does marketing come into this scenario?
According to Purple Pound , in the UK, businesses lose around £2 billion a month by ignoring the needs of disabled people.
A 2018 article by the American Institute for Research said that in the US, the estimated income of working-age people with disabilities was $500 billion.
These people are likely to spend their money on platforms whose experience is more accessible. According to Forbes , 70% of millennials say they consider a company’s values before making a purchase. This suggests that your brand needs to be aware of the issue and take action.
Speaking of strategy, we know that Marketing generates results focused on the user experience. Digital accessibility not only allows full access to experiences for people with disabilities, but also to improve that of the entire audience.
So while accessible digital content is a necessity for a portion of the public, it also benefits other groups, such as people with slow internet connections, small cell phone or smartwatch screens, and even temporary disabilities such as a broken arm.
It also impacts SEO.
You know that Google’s Core Web Vitals algorithms are all about user experience , right? It means you need to provide great navigation for everyone.
Therefore, removing barriers, improving user experience and giving your content greater reach will help your pages rank better in search engines.
Accessibility as a legal duty
In recent years, governments around the world have realized that in order to create a society with equity and justice, laws were needed to protect people with special abilities, not only in the physical environment, but also in the digital one.
Considered the global standard, the most recent version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1 of June 2018) establishes three levels of accessibility; learn about them on the WCAG website .
Level A
The most basic level, where all accessibility criteria considered as Priority 1 are met. This means that the website offers basic access to the content of the pages and online documents.
AA level
At this level, the accessibility criteria of Priorities 1 and 2 are met. The site offers a higher level of usability, in addition to the access to information contemplated in level A.
Aug 26, 22 | 5 min read
Reading time: 4 minutes
Not being able to access information online is a problem that occurs every day with millions of people with disabilities around the world.
15% of the world's population experiences some form of disability. While accessibility has become a priority for many companies, we still have a long way to go in terms of digital accessibility.
A survey by the English company Click-Away sweden email address Pound showed that 69% of respondents have already abandoned websites due to lack of accessibility. In addition, 86% said that if online stores were accessible, they would spend more.
A harsh truth for businesses: those who don't think about giving people free access to information are losing money.
Digital accessibility means breaking down barriers on the Internet to benefit people with special needs . In other words, it is the ability of a virtual experience to enable users to understand the content, regardless of whether the person's disability is visual, auditory, motor or cognitive.
According to a 2020 study by WebAIM , 98% of websites and tools are designed without taking into account the limitations of people with disabilities and end up offering them a poor and incomplete experience.
Where does marketing come into this scenario?
According to Purple Pound , in the UK, businesses lose around £2 billion a month by ignoring the needs of disabled people.
A 2018 article by the American Institute for Research said that in the US, the estimated income of working-age people with disabilities was $500 billion.
These people are likely to spend their money on platforms whose experience is more accessible. According to Forbes , 70% of millennials say they consider a company’s values before making a purchase. This suggests that your brand needs to be aware of the issue and take action.
Speaking of strategy, we know that Marketing generates results focused on the user experience. Digital accessibility not only allows full access to experiences for people with disabilities, but also to improve that of the entire audience.
So while accessible digital content is a necessity for a portion of the public, it also benefits other groups, such as people with slow internet connections, small cell phone or smartwatch screens, and even temporary disabilities such as a broken arm.
It also impacts SEO.
You know that Google’s Core Web Vitals algorithms are all about user experience , right? It means you need to provide great navigation for everyone.
Therefore, removing barriers, improving user experience and giving your content greater reach will help your pages rank better in search engines.
Accessibility as a legal duty
In recent years, governments around the world have realized that in order to create a society with equity and justice, laws were needed to protect people with special abilities, not only in the physical environment, but also in the digital one.
Considered the global standard, the most recent version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1 of June 2018) establishes three levels of accessibility; learn about them on the WCAG website .
Level A
The most basic level, where all accessibility criteria considered as Priority 1 are met. This means that the website offers basic access to the content of the pages and online documents.
AA level
At this level, the accessibility criteria of Priorities 1 and 2 are met. The site offers a higher level of usability, in addition to the access to information contemplated in level A.