Due to the rapid evolution in technology, in the last few years, the number of internet users has increased exponentially and so is the number of web pages available on the internet. The web experiences are mostly based on visuals which the visually impaired sometimes feel impossible to use. 

About 4.5%, that is about 315 million people in the world are experiencing colour blindness, about 4% i.e. 246 million people are suffering from low vision and about 0.6% of people i.e. about 39 million people in the whole world are experiencing complete blindness. It is our responsibility to ensure that these people also experience the world in the same way as us. They must be able to use the internet too and must be able to access the web pages like others for their benefit and convenience. 

So, come on, let’s discuss today how can one develop a webpage which will be accessible by the visually impaired too!

 Interesting, isn’t it?!

Below are listed some of the main changes one can do in their website to make it more accessible for the people having visual impairment – 

1. Choosing the right colours and textures – 

One of the major problems faced by visually impaired people is the readability of the web page. If one ensures that there is sufficient contrast of the font present and the font chosen is easily readable, they can help to improve the experience of a visually impaired person. Also, one must ensure that there is a necessary contrast present between the elements of the web page.

2. Manual font size adjustment – 

One must allow the font size adjustment in the web page they are developing so that people can adjust the font size of the page as per their convenience. The visually impaired people can also use various tools available for magnifying the page but if a developer provides this feature first hand, it will ensure that people who don’t know such tools can also read the web page very conveniently. 

3. Avoid using just colours to communicate – 

Design a website in such a way that if the user has to decide based on colour (like choosing the colour of a product in a shopping website) he can do so easily by writing the name of colour beside the colour. This will help colour blinded people to choose over different colours conveniently. 

4. Prioritizing colour and font interface – 

Nowadays, there are a lot of trends that are coming which use wide spectrum mog colours in their interface, but it is often observed that they often don’t fit in the idea of webpage accessibility for the visually impaired. Thus, one can use tools like colorsafe.co that generate colour palettes according to the guidelines provided by WCAG. 

5. Description about non-text content – 

One must always describe non-text content available on the webpage as it will help to increase the accuracy and use of screen reader software and also help the users.

6. Use of headings to organize the content – 

One must use the heading properly and correctly as it will help to structure the page appropriately, help the user in scanning the page, to see all the important information available on the web page and also help in skimming. 

7. Providing keyboard shortcuts – 

It will help both the people with visual impairment and the general users to navigate the keyboard easily.

So, these were few tips that a web page developer can take into consideration and can also follow to make their website more accessible for the visually impaired people and allow them to have a better experience while navigating the webpage.