Our affordable web design Birmingham service can play a key role in successfully promoting you and your business, from the initial design stage to the final outcome.

How to Create a Truly Inclusive Web Design.

Whenever you’re looking for a web design expert in Birmingham, the chances are that your list of search criteria is relatively small. More specifically, you probably want a designer to encapsulate your brand in a relevant and attractive manner, while also optimising ease-of-use and navigability.

There are other considerations to keep in mind, however, including the issues of responsive and inclusive design. While the former ensures that your website is accessible through mobile devices, for example, the latter creates a resource that’s accessible to people with a diverse range of capabilities (particularly about hearing, vision, and motor skills).

But what are the key principles of inclusive web design, and how can you embrace them for the benefit of your website? Let’s find out:

Adhere to Text and Layout Guidelines for Dyslexic Users

Ramp up the Colour Contrast

Reduce Clicks for People with Motor Impairments

1. Adhere to Text and Layout Guidelines for Dyslexic Users

According to Google, online inclusivity is best described as something that enables “everyone to access and enjoy the web”. With this in mind, your site should adhere to basic text and layout guidelines for dyslexic users, who currently account for an estimated 10% total web users.

This condition directly affects how the brain interprets visual and audio information, creating a scenario where you need to ensure that your website’s text is as readable as possible.

One way to achieve this is to ensure that the lettering on your website is large enough, although we’d also recommend using a strong colour contrast that helps your message to stand out.

In terms of precise typography, sans serif fonts are highly recommended due to their legibility, while using a bold style will highlight text and draw the eye of readers. Similarly, try to use responsive font-size units, so that dyslexic users can make the text larger as and when required.

2. Ramp up the Colour Contrast

While dyslexia impacts on the brain and its interpretation of visual stimuli, visual impairments tend to affect the eye directly and must, therefore, be treated differently from a design perspective.

This can include everything from partial sight loss to colour blindness, and in both of these instances creating strong colour contrasts can play a pivotal role in making your website more accessible and inclusive.

One of the best examples is to introduce areas of white space into your website design while contrasting this with bold black text where possible. Using 18pt red text on a yellow backdrop may also prove effective, but be sure to experiment with different font sizes to optimise visibility.

If you own an eCommerce site through which users are compelled to shop and buy online, it’s also wise to use labels that help to directly inform product selections rather than relying on colour to provide contextual meaning and definition.

3. Reduce Clicks for People with Motor Impairments

On a final note, it’s also important to note that a number of your web users and customers may suffer from motor impairments. These may be the result of physical trauma or conditions such as MS, but either way, it’s important to consider responsiveness with these challenges in mind.

How to Create a Truly Inclusive Web Design.

This is a complex topic, of course, thanks to the sheer range and diversity of conditions that can impair motor function, but generally, a top digital marketing agency knows it is wise to create a streamlined and well-structured website that optimises the user journey in terms of speed and efficiency.

This ultimately means reducing the number of clicks required for users to navigate your site or achieve an end goal, whether this is buying a product or finding out further brand information.

With each of these points in mind, you can hopefully create an accessible and inclusive website and one that optimises your reach and boosts the familiarity of your brand!