Business Benefits of Digital Accessibility Compliance

By now, your organization has probably heard the digital accessibility lawsuit statistics under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other laws. There are thousands year after year. But digital accessibility compliance does more than just help your organization avoid lawsuits. According to the CDC, more than 25% of the U.S. population lives with a disability, and inaccessible content means you risk excluding a quarter of your potential market. Making all content, especially customer-facing digital content, accessible to people with disabilities can lead to a better reputation, better website traffic, and an overall better bottom line.

Value of Digital Accessibility

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) published a Business Case for Accessibility.  It shows that digital accessibility has benefits for SEO, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and risk mitigation. 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Digital accessibility labels and tags help people with disabilities interact with content on the internet. This includes websites and digital documents. Making websites and documents digitally accessible means that assistive technology (like screen readers and connected Braille displays) used by people with disabilities can interact with the digital content and relay it to the user. But it also means search engines can more easily interact with the content. Digital accessibility features such as image alt text, video transcripts, and headings contribute to accessibility, SEO, and an improved user experience for everyone, not just people with disabilities. When all users can experience your website, there is a lower bounce rate, more conversions, and less negative feedback. Search engines measure user experience, so this has a double benefit for SEO.

Increased Revenue

Digital accessibility compliance can result in increased revenue. According to the CDC, as many as 26% of adults have some kind of disability. Making your digital information accessible for everyone, including people who use assistive technology to access your website and digital documents, means you are not excluding the large market share of people who have disabilities. Organizations spend a lot of time and money to increase market share, and accessibility is a great way to be sure you’re not excluding part of your market.

One example of increased revenue is Tesco grocery stores in the UK. In 2000, they were early adopters of online grocery shopping. While working on a new interface design, Tesco recruited blind users and asked for their input on its usability. Using suggestions from the blind users, Tesco launched a second website in which they removed superfluous images, provided clearer descriptions in link text, and eliminated the column-based layout used in the main site. Tesco discovered that all users preferred the simplified accessible interface and implemented these accessibility improvements to the main site, eliminating the need for a separate accessible site. As a result, Tesco’s online sales increased from £52 million in 2000 to £235 million in 2001.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Nearly 90% of consumers feel that corporate social responsibility is important and would purchase a product because the company supported an issue they cared about. Providing access to people with disabilities extends not just to physical locations but also to digital content such as websites, PDFs, and social media. Since the disability market comprises some $490 billion per year it is worth making sure you and your clients aren’t excluding those potential customers.

Better user experience for everyone

Digital accessibility improves the user experience for everyone, not just individuals with disabilities. Features like clear navigation, properly structured headings, alt text for images, and captions for audio and video content make it easier for all users to interact with your website. For example, captions benefit not only those who are deaf or hard of hearing but also users in noisy environments or those who prefer to watch videos without sound. Similarly, well-designed keyboard navigation is helpful for users with mobility impairments and those who simply find it faster or more convenient than using a mouse. By focusing on accessibility, you create a more intuitive, seamless, and inclusive experience that benefits all visitors, ultimately increasing engagement, satisfaction, and retention.

One example of this is the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. The NHS overhauled many of its websites in 2016 because users found them difficult to use due to poor navigation and an excess of technical text, links, and written content. The new website featured simplified text and navigation, fewer PDFs, and no banner ads. As a result, the number of pages with excellent accessibility ratings nearly doubled from 53% to 98%, and the number of daily users increased from 15,000 to 26,000.

What needs to be made accessible? 

So what needs to be made accessible for full inclusion and attaining the most comprehensive market reach? 

Email – All emails should have alt text on images, provide descriptive links that tell the user where the link is going, and use simple language. 

Social Media – All of the above goes for social media. If a social media post has ever told you that the image wasn’t available, you can relate to how a person using assistive technology feels left out when there’s no alt text to explain the shared image Also, using #CamelCase (capitalizing the first letter of each word in a hashtag) makes your hashtags more accessible and understandable for everyone, including people using assistive technology. 

Webinars – Be sure your online events and webinars are accessible for everyone.  Provide live captioning, transcripts for recordings, and ensure that forms and content are all digitally accessible to include everyone. 

Websites – Websites are a major issue for digital accessibility.  There should be navigable headings, alt text on all images, tooltips for forms, captions for any video content, and a myriad of other digital accessibility features to provide an equivalent experience for assistive technology users of all types. 

PDFs – PDFs are one of the most common file types used for marketing and website documentation. They can also be among the most problematic for assistive technology users.  All PDFs must also be digitally accessible. 

How to start prioritizing digital accessibility

You will need some staff members with digital accessibility skills.  This includes web accessibility and PDF accessibility. You will need tools that can simplify the process of making content digitally accessible. Be sure to choose a tool that is suitable for the content you are creating and that truly provides an accessible experience for everyone. It is tempting to work with accessibility overlays, but most of these have proven insufficient and even detrimental to the experience of assistive technology users. Choose a PDF remediation tool that minimizes the time needed to make documents accessible by automating some of the more tedious manual tasks. Additionally, you will need to test websites and documents regularly to be sure they remain accessible.  Any updates to web pages or documents will necessitate a recheck.

Enhance growth through digital accessibility

Digital accessibility is worth the effort

Organizations that embrace digital accessibility serve their clients better and create opportunities for growth and differentiation. As accessibility becomes critical to compliance and corporate social responsibility, organizations that proactively address accessibility will stand out in a competitive market. Organizations can avoid costly legal risks while expanding their reach to a broader audience, including the millions of people with disabilities who rely on accessible content. 

Ultimately, the key to successful digital accessibility lies in a continuous commitment to learning and improvement. Organizations must invest in the right tools, train their staff, and test content regularly. By doing so, they can ensure that their clients’ marketing materials meet accessibility standards and create a more inclusive digital landscape for everyone.

Tammy Albee

Tammy Albee | Director of Marketing | Equidox Tammy joined Equidox after four years of experience working at the National Federation of the Blind. She firmly maintains that accessibility is about reaching everyone, regardless of ability, and boosting your market share in the process. "Nobody should be barred from accessing information. It's what drives our modern society."