Inclusive design: ensuring your Squarespace website is accessible
An accessible website is one that welcomes all users, regardless of any special requirements they may have. As more individuals and businesses opt for Squarespace to create their websites, it's vital to focus on accessibility to ensure that everyone can engage with your content. This article will delve into the principles of accessible design and offer practical advice on making your Squarespace website accessible to all users.
The importance of inclusive design
Inclusive design or accessible design is basically about creating products and environments that cater to individuals with varying abilities, including those with disabilities. When it comes to your website, accessibility ensures that people with hearing, motor or cognitive challenges can still navigate and interact effectively with the content provided. By emphasizing accessibility in the design of your Squarespace website, you will not only be more likely to comply with specific accessibility regulations and standard, you will also naturally cultivate a more inclusive and inviting online environment for all users.
The principles of creating an accessible Squarespace website
Use semantic html. Screen readers use HTML to understand the structure of a webpage, so using semantic html will allow visually impaired visitors to better navigate your website (side note: search engines also rely on semantics to better understand your content, so well-structured content will also give your site an SEO boost). Semantic html is basically a fancy way of saying structure the content in your Squarespace site properly using heading and paragraph tags. You should use heading tags (H1, H2, H3) to indicate the importance of the text, H1 being the most important. Ideally use only Heading 1 per page. And avoid using design elements (bold, different colours, italics) to denote structure.
Think carefully about colour. The contrast between text and background colours can have a major impact on some people’s viewing experience of your website. Colour vision deficiency is more common than you might think, and that means you need to provide a good level of contrast between elements (like text on a coloured background, or a button with text).
Choose templates wisely. When picking a template for your Squarespace website prioritise designs that focus on accessibility and follow web standards. Look for templates that come with built-in accessibility features such as colour contrast, keyboard navigation support and responsive layouts that adjust to screen sizes (this last one is standard with all Squarespace templates).
Provide alternative text for all images. With Squarespace you can easily add text to images through the Image Block settings ensuring everyone can comprehend the elements on your website. Make sure to describe images using text that explains the content and purpose of the image to users who may not be able to see it.
Enhance navigation and readability; Create user-friendly navigation menus that are easy to use with a keyboard or screen reader. Opt for fonts maintain contrast between text and background colours and incorporate enough white space to improve readability for users, with visual impairments or cognitive challenges.
How to make sure you Squarespace website is accessible
Once you’re satisfied that you’ve made your website accessible using the principles outlined above - you can test your website to see if there are any accessibility issues:
One easy way to do this is just to navigate using the tab key to check that all interactive elements, like links, buttons and forms can be reached and used without a mouse. This helps users who rely on keyboard navigation.
Do an audit of your site against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). WCAG is an internationally-agreed set of standards for making online content more accessible to people with disabilities. You can check how well you meet the standards, or use them as a reference when creating and optimising your Squarespace site ensuring it meets industry accessibility requirements.
Use the Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (WAVE) to get an objective evaluation of your site’s accessibility. Just enter your Squarespace website URL into WAVE to receive a report on accessibility issues and actionable recommendations.
Promoting inclusivity through your Squarespace website
Inclusive design goes beyond compliance. It’s about showing empathy, understanding and dedication to making sure everyone can access and interact with your Squarespace website. When you focus on making your design accessible you're showing your commitment to providing an online experience that everyone can use.
So follow the design advice above, make use of the tools to test and measure, and you will be helping create a more inclusive, accessible web for all.
