Most people know that making websites and apps accessible to everyone is important, but many don’t realize the benefits of doing so. Accessibility isn’t just about making sure people with disabilities can use your product; it also makes your product more user-friendly for everyone. In this article, we’ll look at some of the key benefits of using an accessibility overlay on your website.
Providing Context
When you use an accessibility overlay, the content of your website is displayed over a transparent background. This allows people using screen readers to hear the context for each section of content. So, for example, if you have images on your website that explain the content, this information will be read out by the screen reader. As a result, people won’t have to read through your content and guess what it’s about.
Creating Clarity
People who use screen readers often have trouble with websites that contain a lot of visual noise, such as those where large images appear above the fold. The only way they can access those images is to go through each link and click on them, one by one. This is both time-consuming and frustrating for users because they typically want to jump right into the content itself without finding it first. An accessibility overlay allows people to use screen readers to access everything simultaneously, so they don’t have to work hard just to get some information.
Helping People With Low Vision Access Your Content
Many people with low vision struggle to surf the web because of the small text and low contrast between colors. Some of them can use screen magnifiers to make the text bigger, but most prefer to use software that increases the color contrast so they can read content with ease. If your website doesn’t have good color contrast, people using screen magnifiers will suffer because they’ll be unable to see what you’re trying to say. However, an accessibility overlay allows people will low vision to change the colors to increase the contrast and make everything more legible.
Improving Bounce Rates
When you want people to stay on a web page, you need to ensure it’s easy for them to find what they’re looking for without a lot of effort. An accessibility overlay allows users will low vision or motor impairments to click on the text they want with ease. If you don’t use an overlay, people will have to spend a long time deciphering where your links are or move their screen magnifier around the page until it lights up on the link they’re looking for. Either way, you’ll end up losing visitors who would like to stay longer instead of leaving right away because your content is too difficult to navigate.
Improving User Experience For Everyone
Many people assume that making things accessible only benefits users with disabilities, but this isn’t true. Instead, everyone can benefit from using an overlay because it makes it easier for anyone with low vision or motor impairments to access your content without any problems. In addition, since many websites are now expected to work on mobile devices, you also need to consider people with motor impairments when designing your website.
When an accessibility overlay is used, anyone with a disability can use and understand what they’re reading without relying on someone else to help them. They’ll be able to read articles at their own pace and even skip over parts that they don’t need.
