Not everybody is the same as you. A straight-forward concept, but the reality is that many business owners forget this when they build a website. We all have different vision requirements, software, mobility constraints, and many more idiosyncrasies that define us as individual web users. We’re all unique and it’s important to not to make the mistake of denying someone access to your information, products, or services.
Consider someone who is slightly aging. An older person should be given priority from a sales perspective because older people have had more time to accumulate wealth. However, with elders, their eye sight starts to diminish. This is usually not a problem because our operating systems and web browsers can just "bump up" the text size. Or, can they? If you don’t account for this functionality when you build a website, important features will not be usable for those with increased text size.
When you make a website, it’s important to take consideration to the color scheme. Color blindness, in some form or another, is quite common despite popular belief. The common forms of color blindness still allow individuals to see colors, just not distinguish between similar colors. Create a website that uses contrast and try to avoid using colors to represent meaning. Wording such as "items colored red are not in stock" is something you should avoid.
Considering mobility restraints. The number of people who can’t operate a mouse, at any time, may actually be higher than you think. Their coordination or agility may be restricted due to an accident. Consider users may not be using a mouse, for several reasons, when you make a website.
It does not take much effort to create a website that works only with a keyboard. It is a good idea to try out working on various sites using a keyboard only and see how comfortable the experience is. Then compare the experience with your own website and see how does it hold up.
Finally, consider the software that your visitor might be using. There are thousands of operating system/browser/preference combinations. Are you excluding any of them? Consider a site that relies on JavaScript to draw its links in a fancy drop-down menu. Did you realize that it’s very common for workplaces to disable JavaScript for security reasons? This means that anyone browsing the web from work (people who making money to spend on your products) will not be able to follow your link to the check-out page! Try to create a website that doesn’t exclude users because of their software.
To sum up, three major issues are software, mobility, and sight. Cater to them and they’ll cater to you in return. With such best practices in mind, you may create a website with confidence and maximize its intent. You will get more visitors, more repeat ones, and happier ones. It’s a fine way to run your business successfully.
Think for a moment about the needs of a senior citizen. When you make a website, it’s important to take consideration to the text size and color scheme. Color blindness, in some form or another, is quite common despite popular belief. Now consider mobility restraints. At any time, the number of people who can’t operate a mouse may actually be higher than you think. Perhaps an accident restricts their coordination or agility. For several reasons, you should always consider that your users may not be using a mouse when you build a website. To create a website that can function with the keyboard alone takes minimal effort.
- Tem Balanco
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