Accessibility is an essential part of modern website design. It helps ensure that all users can engage with your event website, including people with visual, motor, or cognitive impairments. It is also increasingly important for compliance and best practice.
Why accessibility matters
Accessible design improves usability for everyone, not only those using assistive technology.
It can help people who are:
using a keyboard instead of a mouse
viewing the site on a mobile device
reading in bright or low-light conditions
navigating with visual impairments
interacting with smaller screens or touch targets
Accessibility improvements often lead to clearer, easier-to-use websites overall.
Focus on colour contrast
One of the key topics covered in the webinar was colour contrast.
Contrast affects how easily users can read text against its background. If contrast is too low, important content such as buttons or headings may become difficult to read.
WCAG contrast guidelines
The webinar referenced the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG.
The minimum recommended contrast ratios are:
4.5:1 for normal text
3:1 for large text
This means that some colour combinations that look acceptable at first glance may still fail accessibility standards.
Test button and text combinations
A good example from the session showed that the same background colour can pass with one text colour and fail with another.
For example:
black text on an orange background may pass
white text on the same orange background may fail
This is why it is important to test actual foreground and background combinations rather than relying on visual judgement alone.
Use accessibility checking tools
There are many tools available online to check colour contrast. These allow you to enter:
a background colour
a foreground colour
and review whether the combination meets WCAG standards. The webinar also noted that ASP can assist with reviewing contrast concerns where needed.
Support accessibility beyond colour
Accessibility also includes:
keyboard-friendly navigation
searchable content
large enough touch targets
visible labels on forms
logical page structure
clear headings
These improvements make your website more inclusive and easier to use.
Summary
Accessible design helps more people use your website successfully. By checking contrast, improving structure, and supporting different ways of navigating, you can create a more inclusive and effective event website.
For ShowOff sites, accessibility is not just a design improvement. It is a core part of building a better customer experience.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.