Consequences of Ignoring Mobile Accessibility
With smartphones becoming the primary device for search (a whopping 63% of all online searches occur on a mobile device), making sure your website is mobile-friendly and accessible is often a make-or-break situation for businesses. Neglecting your website’s mobile design can inadvertently turn away over half of your potential customers and leave out users who experience disability. If you think people with disabilities are a small fraction of your potential customer base, think again. According to the World Health Organization, 1.3 billion people experience a significant disability. That’s 16% of the world’s population.
- Beyond creating frustration and excluding users, inaccessible mobile experiences also carry significant legal risks. Web accessibility lawsuits are on the rise, with 4,605 lawsuits filed in 2023, a 42% increase since 2022. You will spend thousands of dollars in legal fees just to be told you must update your website to comply with the ADA requirements.
- On top of legal fees, you might also face social backlash from not being accessible to begin with. Inclusivity matters to most consumers in today's day and age.
There's also the opportunity cost of alienating an enormous consumer market. People with disabilities have a combined disposable income of over $490 billion.
Common Mobile Accessibility Barriers
While mobile devices offer convenience and portability, they also introduce unique challenges when it comes to accessibility.
- Smaller screen sizes and touch interfaces make precise interactions difficult, especially for users with motor disabilities
- Small text sizes and low color contrast hinder those with vision impairments
- Most mobile websites don’t fully support screen readers and voice control tools
Achieving and maintaining true mobile accessibility requires an ongoing, proactive process - not a one-time box to check. Mobile platforms, assistive technologies, and accessibility guidelines are constantly evolving, meaning you must consistently evaluate and update your website's mobile experience through an accessibility lens.
How We Build Accessible and Mobile-Friendly Websites
We believe the Internet should be accessible to everyone, regardless of ability. Our team of skilled developers follows the latest WCAG guidelines to ensure your website is optimized for assistive technologies. This includes adding proper alt text, ensuring sufficient color contrast, including keyboard navigation, writing descriptive headings, and more.
We also aim to educate our clients on the importance of maintaining accessibility across future updates and new content added to their sites. Having an accessible foundation is critical but it is an ongoing effort to maintain that foundation.
We utilize accessiBe, an AI-powered web accessibility solution that makes websites accessible to all people with disabilities and ensures your website is compliant with the ADA and WCAG. Curious if your website is accessible? You can run a free website audit on accessiBe to see if your website is compliant.
In today's mobile environment, businesses can't afford to let accessibility be an afterthought. Need help with your website? We are equipped to help you navigate new website regulations and requirements surrounding ADA compliance.