Is your e-commerce website accessible?

In 2023, it was reported that around 16 million people in the UK have a disability, which makes up a whopping 24% of the global population.

For those who have issues that affect their mobility or social skills, online shopping is often the only option.

However, not all e-commerce websites are easy to navigate for those with certain disabilities, and 73% of disabled customers have faced accessibility difficulties when shopping online.

With online shopping more prevalent than ever, and the number of registered disabilities increasing year upon year, e-commerce website accessibility has never been more important.

But how can you check if your website is accessible, and what changes can you make so it’s more inclusive?

Discover everything you need to know about web accessibility in e-commerce with the Paramount Digital experts.

Why is accessibility in e-commerce so important?

E-commerce accessibility is important for a number of different reasons, including:

• Inclusivity

Making sure that all users, disabled or otherwise, can navigate your site easily is vital. 

When all users have access to the same information, products and services, you can develop a safe, online community for all.

• Legal compliance

Under the Equality Act (EQA) that replaced the Discrimination Act in 2010, all businesses have a legal obligation to not discriminate against those who have a disability.

This includes actively providing an equal website solution to all their users and, to comply with UK laws, all website owners must make reasonable adjustments to their web content so that it’s accessible for those with disabilities.

• Ethical considerations

If you want to demonstrate your understanding and appreciation for diversity and inclusion as a brand, building an accessible website is just one of the things you can do.

• Business benefits

By making your e-commerce website more accessible and developing an inclusive online space, you’ll be able to reach a larger audience and keep your customers satisfied.

What can I do to make my site more accessible?

There are plenty of things you can do to make your e-commerce website more accessible for disabled shoppers.

Just some of them include:

1. Use alt text for images

Alt text is a description of an image that’s included in the HTML code of your webpage, allowing those with visual impairments to comprehend information and its placement on your website.

This textual description is read aloud by screen readers and other assistive technologies so that it’s easy to understand the content and context of the image, even though they can’t see it.

2. Enable keyboard and touch navigation

Ensuring that users can interact with all the features and functions on your website via keyboard and touch navigation is incredibly important.

Anyone with a motor, cognitive, or visual impairment, or suffering from a repetitive strain injury, may find it easier to use their fingers or device keyboard to get around your site, rather than using mouse-only functions.

3. Think carefully about colour

In the UK, approximately three million people are colour-blind.

Although it comes in varying severities, those affected are typically unable to see certain colours clearly, or differentiate one colour from another.

With this in mind, you should choose your colours carefully when designing (or redesigning!) your website, and try and stick with pallets that work well for everyone.

Colour palettes such as blue/orange, blue/red and blue/brown are popular, all-inclusive options.

Need help making your e-commerce site more accessible?

Whether you need tips on how to make your existing e-commerce website more accessible, or you want to design a new and inclusive user-friendly website, we’re here for you!

Our web design & development team at Paramount Digital have years of experience, and we’ve successfully helped many clients refine their websites to accommodate all users. And with all the necessary tools, skills and knowledge, you can trust that we’re the best-placed team for the job.

To find out more about what we do, or for a FREE website audit, give us a call today on 01744 74 74 74 or email us at marketing@paramountdigital.co.uk and we’ll be in touch to answer your questions!