How to Build an Accessible Ecommerce Site for All Shoppers

The unstoppable rise of eCommerce has taken the world by storm, and there is no sign of slowing down. A lot of consumers these days prefer online shopping over visiting the physical store.

You might not know that 35% of the global population shopped online on a weekly basis in 2023. This is excellent news for eCommerce business owners, but along with this, it is also essential to ask yourself if you have an accessible eCommerce site.

So, your online platform must be accessible to all users, even those with disabilities.

Apart from just following the accessibility best practices, it offers you additional benefits such as improved brand reputation, reaching a larger and more diverse audience and enhancing the overall user experience.

In this blog, we will discuss why web accessibility is important for eCommerce websites and how to make fully accessible sites. Without further ado, let's get started.

Why is Web Accessibility Important for eCommerce Stores?

Web accessibility is essential for people with disabilities as they also need access to products and services just like anyone else. An estimated 1.3 billion people experience significant disability. Thus, if your website is not accessible, they might struggle to navigate your online store.

By ignoring web accessibility, you're not just missing out on sales – you're excluding a vast market segment that's eager to shop online. Furthermore, search engines also love accessible websites, so implementing these features can improve your search ranking significantly and drive more organic traffic to your store.

In fact, accessibility features not only help disabled people but they make your site navigation easy for all customers, including those on mobile devices or with slow internet connections.

A lot of countries take legal action if the website is not accessible; thus, by adhering to these guidelines, you're protecting your business from potential lawsuits.

How to Make an eCommerce Site Accessible?

An accessible eCommerce site is a win-win: it's better for your customers and for your business. Let's understand how you can make your eCommerce site accessible-

1. Keyboard-friendly navigation

Not everyone uses a mouse. Therefore, you should ensure all the functions are accessible through keyboard shortcuts. This includes navigating between product categories, adding items to the cart and completing the checkout process.

All interactive elements, such as links, buttons, and form controls, should be easily accessible and operable using the keyboard alone. Also, ensure that you provide a visible focus indicator for keyboard users.

This feature is essential for users who are unable to use the mouse or users with motor disabilities.

Pro Tip: Test your site using only your keyboard. Now, if you can complete a purchase without touching your mouse, you are good to go.

2. Content structure and headings

To make your website accessible, structure content with clear headings, consistent navigation, scalable fonts and descriptive alt texts. Following this not only makes your content easy to read for everyone but also helps users with visual impairment who rely on screen readers.

Without a logical structure, some of the elements might be misunderstood, which can lead to inaccurate reading of the web page.

3. Clear color contrast

The text and background colour of your eCommerce website plays an important role as it makes the content readable and understandable for all people, regardless of their visual disabilities.

• A contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text
• Do not use just one color on your website
• Choose fonts that are clear and easy to read
• Use a high level of contrast between your text and foreground 

Note: It is recommended to avoid using small, blurry, or low-contrast text, as it can pose challenges for users with visual impairments.

4. Descriptive alt-text

Adding a clear alt-text to images is a great way to improve accessibility for visually impaired users. An alt-text is a description of the image on your website.

Adding texts is vital as it allows screen readers to read image descriptions aloud, making it quite beneficial for blind, visually impaired or people with learning disorders.

While writing an alt-text, keep in mind that it should be concise and descriptive. For decorative images, use empty alt-text so that screen readers can skip them, and for charts or infographics, you should provide detailed descriptions.

For example, you can tag a product image for a green top with the following alt text- "green top with a red flower on it.

This feature is beneficial for eCommerce sites as it can offer a detailed description of your products or services to people who use screen readers to navigate the website.

5. Use clear and descriptive link text

Use a clear and descriptive link text to describe where a link will take the visitor. For example, instead of writing "Click here" or "Read more," you should write "Click here to view product specifications" or "Read more about summer sale items."

This determines your purpose as to why you want the visitors to click that link and makes it easy for them to understand and navigate. It will definitely enhance the user experience, as all your users will appreciate knowing where a link will take them before they click.

Furthermore, descriptive links are easier to tap and understand at a glance, even on small screens. This feature ensures that all the users, irrespective of any disabilities, can navigate the website efficiently.

By making your links more accessible, you not only make your site fully accessible but also expand your customer base, reduce bounce rate and improve your search engine ranking.

6. Accessible online forms

Forms are an important part of eCommerce websites as they are used in both scenarios: when customers register on your site and when they check out. Thus, you should ensure that they are clear and easy to read, plus they should contrast well with the background.

To make your site forms accessible you should- 

• Label all the form fields clearly
• Provide clear instructions and error messages
• Use placeholders in the field entry box to show examples of what is required
• Enable users to navigate the form using the tab key
• Group related form elements by using fieldset and legend tags

7. Create an accessible checkout process

Creating an accessible process isn't just about compliance. Instead, it enables all the customers to complete their purchases easily.

Check-out is a multi-step mechanism, making it challenging for people with disability to pick up where they left off. This happens especially when there is no indication of where they are in the buying process. To avoid putting your users in this situation you should consider the following-

• Break the checkout process into clearly labeled steps
• Ensure all functions can be accessed without a mouse
• Allow users to review and edit their order before making the final purchase
• Show the steps in the checkout process with field labels and placeholder text
• Offer a variety of payment options and also include those that don't require fine motor skills

Tips to Make Your eCommerce Site Accessible

If you are looking to create an accessible eCommerce website, here are some important tips to consider-

1. Video and audio content accessibility 

You should keep in mind to include captions or transcripts for any multimedia content. This feature is essential for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, as this will provide them equal access to the information.

2. Responsive design 

This means that your website should work smoothly across all devices, such as laptops, mobile phones, tablets, etc. For example, if you design your website solely for laptops, then the text, buttons or images might appear too large on mobile phones. This will make it quite challenging for any user or disabled person to navigate your website.

3. Optimize product pages for accessibility 

Needless to say, product pages are one of the main parts of the website as this is where the conversion happens. Thus, you should provide clear and detailed descriptions and ensure the pricing information is also properly labeled.

4. Provide accessible product filters and search 

To make your website accessible, ensure that all the filters can be used through the keyboard and are clearly labelled. To make things more seamless, offer auto-complete suggestions for search queries.

5. Deliver high-quality audio

You need to ensure that the audio you use should have no background noise as it can be distracting for people with hearing impairment. Plus, sync subtitles with videos or whatever is happening on-screen so that blind or people with low vision can connect with your content easily.

Conclusion

By building an accessible eCommerce site, you can transform the way your users shop on your site. You need to understand that creating an accessible website is not an exception- it should be a norm.

Ready to ride the eCommerce wave? If you wish to create an accessible eCommerce site, you can opt for the best website designer company LN Web Works.

They will create a website that's user-friendly, responsive, optimized for search engines and adheres to all the standards set by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This company will ensure your website can be easily navigated by visually impaired users and integrate accessibility seamlessly with your brand identity.

Choosing us will also allow you to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies, ensuring your site remains modern and effective.

So, don't let inaccessibility be the barrier between you and potential customers. Leverage the power of professional expertise for a more accessible and successful tomorrow.