December is the Gift of Sight Month, raising awareness around eye health and the prevention of sight impairment and loss due to various diseases and disorders. And on the subject of the gift of sight, website accessibility hasn’t escaped the attention of Oldham based specialist charity Henshaws, who provide support, advice and training to people whose lives are impacted by sight loss.
“Websites and apps should be made accessible to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with sight loss and other disabilities,” they said. “In fact, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognises access to information and communications technologies, including the Web, as a basic human right.”
After all, it feels like we all live our lives online these days. Imagine if it was challenging or even impossible to make your way around a website like most of us are used to doing, at the push of a button.
Development and design have large parts to play in website accessibility. In addition, there are quick and easy website translation tricks, in the language/s of your choice, to help you provide an enhanced journey to sight impaired website traffic.
How Does Website Translation Uplevel Accessibility?
- Do Your Images Include Translated Alt Text Descriptions? – Having relevant alt text descriptions, in the languages that are featured on your website, ticks more boxes than you might imagine. First and foremost, it’ an accessibility must-have. In addition, alt text is rewarded by search engine spiders, boosting your SEO ranking as an added bonus. Win:Win!
- Are Your Video Clips Captioned? – Video is sweeping the board as one of the most effective ways of attracting customer engagement online. So, if you have website translations in one or more languages, imagine the added impact if your video clips are translated, captioned and even accompanied by audio for sight impaired browsers to listen to.
- Does Your Website Include Any Audio Translation? – Not all sight impaired website browsers use screen readers. And not all website content can be consumed easily with screen readers. So, it’s worth thinking about audio translation for key parts of your website, for example, your brochure or your company magazine.
At Accutranslate, we provide expert website translation services in all languages. This increasingly includes the language of technology, helping businesses to gift parity of user experience to sight impaired stakeholders. Get in touch for an initial chat about options and rates.
Source
Top tips for making websites and apps accessible for people with sight loss, Henshaws