Today, we seem to rely on technology more and more each day. For example, our website continues to attract thousands of visitors. However, not everyone in society can browse our site easily. Having an accessible website is crucial for an on-line business. Ensuring that our website: Everything Dinosaur can be easily navigated and understood by users of all abilities is a priority. To this end, we have set about making some changes and improving website accessibility.

Improving Website Accessibility

A key aspect of website accessibility is providing sufficient contrast between the font colour and the colour of the background.  Poor colour contrast can make text difficult to read, especially for individuals with visual impairments like low vision or colour blindness.  A lack of contrast between the font colour and the background can also cause difficulties for people who suffer from frequent headaches or migraines.

Fortunately, some free software developed by Utah State University (WAVE), can be employed to help website owners make their sites more accessible. This software can identify many accessibility issues and Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) errors.  These issues impact on the end-user experience and once factors such as contrast issues have been addressed, the site can be checked again to ensure it complies with best practice.

Everything Dinosaur conducted an analysis of our website’s colour scheme and made some updates to enhance accessibility.  The contrast ratio between the white font colour and the pale blue background was examined and the background colour changed to dark green to meet recommended guidelines. This small change has made a big difference.  It allows users with poor eyesight to easily read and engage with our content.

Helping to improve accessibility to Everything Dinosaur’s website. The image (top) shows the website’s previous design. The image (bottom) shows the new layout with the improved contrast between the font colour and the background. The sharper contrast will help site visitors with eyesight difficulties to view the website more easily.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Comparing “Before” and “After”

The image (above) shows two views of the Everything Dinosaur website.  The top image shows the original layout, whilst the image (bottom) shows the new high contrast layout.  The white font stands out against the new, dark green backdrop.  Beyond just improving the visual aspects of the site, enhancing website accessibility benefits all site visitors. Content that is easy to perceive and navigate is better for everyone. Removing barriers to access means that the Everything Dinosaur website will be more inclusive.

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“By changing the contrast we have improved our website.  It is now more inclusive, but we recognise that there is more work to be done.  Hopefully. the changes we have made are a step in the right direction.”

If you have a suggestion to make about improving website accessibility or any other aspect of the Everything Dinosaur website, please feel free to contact us: Email Everything Dinosaur.