Web Site Accessibility Blog

This article on CreativeMatch.com caught my eye, as it is a standards-accessibility supporting article, citing the need for interoperability. Multiple user-agents, such as users with screen readers, Braille keyboards, PDA’s, mobile devices and an increasing number of automated agents are accessing web sites. As such, the author advocates a central focus on content, as he makes the statement, “The essence of accessibility is to put the content of a web page first and the design second.”

Now, while I am an accessibility advocate, I am also a marketing advocate. I have been known to agree with the mantra that “Content is King”, but I would be hard-pressed to say that design should be sacrificed to the sole expense of design. This seems like a somewhat logical statement; however it lacks the marketing focus of a website.

Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab released a recent study about user’s evaluations of web site credibility. While most of the subjects cited the importance and requirement of a privacy policy in assessing credibility, none actually used that strict of a criteria during the actual study. The finding showed that user overwhelmingly prefer to judge sites on the more “superficial” attractiveness of design. More than 46% of the respondents cited the design of the site. Specifically, the topography, layout, and font size and color scheme of the overall web site. One of the overwhelming elements that users found attractive was visual cues. Comments about visual design and trust increased in financial sites(54.6%), search engines (52.6%) and travel sites.

While sites should never rely solely on visual cues for navigation, information or other means of communication, visual cues are an important method of marketing a website. Simply because not all can use or see the visual options provided on a web site is by no means a reason to renounce implementing content around a design.

Design is a specific marketing and artistic expression that is central to persuasion and setting the tone for an advertisement, product display or meeting. If content were king in the off-line world, then we would have to toss out the image-oriented stores and only have rows of product with minimal marketing. Sort of the difference between the typical mall stores, such as Victoria’s Secret, and a Wal-Mart. Maybe that’s a horrid example, but it’s the best I can think of right now. (I don’t make frequent trips to the mall.)

In summary, we have to be willing to sell or provide information to site visitors with the way they prefer that interaction. There is a large group of people that use visual cues and enjoy the design, as it is a primary marketing tool. However, accessibility should be integrated, as marketing also implies getting out the message to the greatest amount of people as possible.