Accessibility Statistics: How to Make Your Website Accessible to Everyone in 2021

More than 1 billion people in the world are living with a disability, according to the World Health Organization. Of that number, about 190 million people from 15 years and up experience significant difficulties in functioning. These figures are not going down because of ageing populations and increasing chronic illnesses. Despite these figures, far too many websites still lack accessibility features.   

Now, you’re probably wondering: “How can I make my website accessible for the disabled?” Let’s look into the latest accessibility statistics and explore some of the ways you can make your website disability-friendly. 

What Is Website Accessibility?

Web accessibility is about developing websites, tools, and technologies that can be used by all people, regardless of their disability, age, or geographic location.  

According to the United Nations, access to information, as well as communications technologies, is a basic human right. The lack of special accommodations is discrimination against a significant portion of society.  

In the US, it can have costly repercussions. The Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design prohibits discrimination of any kind against people with disabilities. This includes depriving them of access to digital services and information technology, such as websites. Failure to comply with ADA can lead to lawsuits and exorbitant fines. 

Website Accessibility Statistics

• 19.9 million Americans have trouble lifting or grasping 

A responsive layout enables your website to function and look well on every device. This benefits people who suffer from dexterity issues. You can also make clickable buttons larger in size so that keyboard users won’t have to strain themselves to click on the tabs they want. 

• 7.6 million Americans are hearing impaired 

Adding captions to website videos is a simple way to make your content more accessible to the hearing impaired. Through captions, they can fully and understand and interpret the video.  

• 8.1 million Americans are visually impaired 

Research shows that internet retailers that don’t cater to visually impaired users lose as much as $6.9 billion per year compared to their disability-friendly competitors.  

When it comes to visual elements such as photos, blind users and other visually impaired individuals can’t view them like the average person. You can make your website more accessible to this group of people by adding Alt Text to images.  

There are special software programs that can read the text descriptions on the screen, which can aid users with visual impairments.  

Is Your Website At Risk of an ADA Accessibility Lawsuit?

In this increasingly digital society, most businesses are setting up and maintaining an online presence to reach their audiences. However, not everyone is optimizing their websites for people with disabilities.  

Remember that ADA applies to local, country, state, and federal organizations and agencies. The slow adoption of ADA standards has led to an increasing number of lawsuits against businesses. 

Protect your reputation and your business. ADA Web Accessibility is a fully automated solution that can help you make your website ADA compliant in just 48 hours. By making your website accessible, you can prevent costly ADA lawsuits. You can broaden your reach and even boost your business.