iBlades website now WCAG compliant
The iBlades company is proud to announce that its official website is now compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards of web design!
The overall accessibility of the iBlades website is now on a much better level. Everyone, especially people with some type of disability who were unable to see some content that was offered on the Internet pages, can now access this website and navigate through it with much more ease.
The Improvement
After hard work by the iBlades’ team, the website is now resolved of 107 issues!
While the website was already working error-free, accessibility issues were present due to many years of the website's existence. Of course, since the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines were proposed, the team has begun to fix minor issues that will help everyone, especially people with disabilities to access and navigate the website.
The iBlades website now fully follows the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) guidelines responsible for ensuring compliance.
What is W3C?
The W3C is an international body that acts to standardize web technologies such as HTML, XHTML, CSS, and WCAG. The most current version available is WCAG 2.1, released in 2018 to replace the second version released in 2008.
The mission of the W3C is to implement common rules to create and adapt content taking into account the needs of each individual, government, or other organization.
Therefore, over the years, website accessibility was improved for all users, either through subtitles or other elements that would help to better understand what was being displayed on a web page.
How do the WCAG 2.0 guidelines work?
The rules that determine the accessibility to the content of a website are made up of twelve guidelines set out in four basic principles: perceptibility, usability, understanding, and robustness. These guidelines provide clear instructions on what web developers, writers, and designers should consider when building a website:
- Perceptible: all the information and components that are part of the interface that the user sees must be developed so that they can be perceived in any way.
- Usable: The components of said interface and web browsing must be usable and accessible.
- Understandable: web content must be designed in such a way that users immediately recognize its operation and the information provided.
- Robustness: The content must be interpreted without much difficulty by browsers and other technology that is available to users.
These principles and their guidelines can be read and analyzed in detail on the W3C website, where an explanation of the guidelines to follow to comply with the regulations is offered.
What does WEB Accessibility mean and why is it important?
Making your website accessible to people with disabilities is very important, but it also affects the very structure of the business, because in this way the website can achieve more traffic. By improving the user experience to meet accessibility standards, Web Accessibility can help users overcome barriers caused by a poor user experience.
What is Web Accessibility?
Web Accessibility is a standard used to more effectively create websites and web applications that are adapted for people with disabilities. More precisely, it is essential that the website or web application is adapted to the extent that people with visual, hearing, or some difficulties with another disorder could freely browse the content on the website.
What is WCAG 2.0?
AODA’s accessibility standard for information and communication also states that websites must meet certain technical criteria in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0).
There are 3 levels of WCAG 2.0 which include:
Level A - This is the minimum level that a site can be considered accessible. It deals with basic accessibility issues, such as providing HTML alternative text to images. This level is not limited to just one disability and includes visitors who use screen readers.
Level AA - Solves more advanced issues, including visual presentation of images and text. This would require more advanced design and layout changes to adhere to certain populations. This may involve consistent navigation through the website, and the content is organized under clear headings, and that the text and background have a minimum level of contrast for readability.
AAA Level - This can solve problems for a specific population of users. This level allows most people with disabilities to access the site. AAA-level criteria may include sign language translation for pre-recorded videos, have 9th-grade reading content, and preserve user data for re-authentication. This level is not a requirement for WCAG compliance.
Final words
The iBlades company works hard to provide the best service both in the production and customer service departments. This improvement is only a step forward towards a better user experience and is only one of many over the years.
As stated, the iBlades website was already fully functional and user-friendly, with numerous photos, information, and additional links conveniently placed. Now, it is even better.
Please reach out via email at hello@i-blades.com or via phone at 650.906.3676 for help.
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