The need for accessible websites has been there since the internet began. Unfortunately, it wasn’t realised straight away and so for a number of years, disabled internet users struggled to visit most websites. Fortunately, things have improved from then and many websites are becoming fully accessible. In fact, in many countries it is now a legal requirement that a website be accessible to disabled users. So, this is something that all business owners who have an online presence should be aware of and working to achieve. The number of lawsuits against websites that haven’t made their websites accessible has increased dramatically and the reputations of even large, well-established companies have been damaged because of this. Using an accessibility overlay is a good way to get your business accessible quickly and efficiently and avoid any legal drama.

How will a website accessibility overlay help?

It could seem like a big ask to get your entire website fully accessible and you may wonder how much would be involved and how much would it cost your business. Using an accessibility overlay is cheap, it is fast, and it is effective. The software will scan your code and look for any areas that are not yet accessible. When it finds these areas, it will then automatically rectify the situation and your website will then be accessible. How easy is that? 

Is it worth doing?

Aside from the legal obligations mentioned above, it is worth doing for many other reasons too. I’m sure you’d agree that disabled people deserve, and have the right to expect, the same level of service from companies that everyone else receives. So, helping these ones have the same access as everyone else is the right thing to do. A lawsuit on this issue would damage your company, but complying is good for your company’s reputation. Even the search engines think so and will rank you higher on their pages if you are accessible. 

Something you may not have realised is that there are 1.3 billion disabled people in the world and that number continues to climb. By having an accessible website, you are not only helping all those people to have more access online, but you are also giving your own company the potential of many more visitors to your website and possible sales from that. 

The benefits also extend to your already established client base. I’m sure they would appreciate simple, easy to follow pages while visiting your site.

So, as you can see there are benefits for everybody by getting your website online and it doesn’t have to be hard, if you use an accessibility overlay.