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What Does Accessibility Mean in Website Design?

Many businesses treat website accessibility as an afterthought, a box to tick rather than a strategic imperative. This is a costly mistake. Ignoring accessibility not only limits your reach to a significant portion of the population but also undermines your brand’s reputation and potentially exposes you to legal ramifications. At The Company, we believe accessibility is not just compliance; it’s a fundamental element of good design and a key driver of sustainable business growth.

The conventional wisdom often focuses on superficial aspects of accessibility, such as adding alt text to images. While important, this is only the tip of the iceberg. True accessibility requires a systematic, holistic approach that integrates accessibility considerations throughout the entire design and development process. This aligns perfectly with our Zero Noise Marketing philosophy, focusing on measurable results and eliminating wasted effort.

Understanding the Scope of Web Accessibility

Web accessibility encompasses a broad range of considerations, ensuring that websites are usable by people with a wide array of disabilities, including:

Visual impairments (blindness, low vision)
Auditory impairments (deafness, hard of hearing)
Motor impairments (limited dexterity, paralysis)
Cognitive impairments (learning disabilities, ADHD)
Seizures

Failing to account for these diverse needs significantly restricts your potential audience and limits your business’s growth. Our data shows that accessible websites experience higher conversion rates and improved customer satisfaction, directly impacting your bottom line.

The Zero Noise Approach to Website Accessibility

Our 3+1 Blueprint ensures a systematic and measurable approach to web accessibility:

Assess: We conduct a thorough accessibility audit of your existing website, identifying areas for improvement using industry-standard WCAG guidelines. This assessment goes beyond simple checklists, analyzing user experience and identifying inefficiencies.

Strategize: We develop a tailored accessibility strategy aligned with your business goals, resources, and budget. This includes prioritizing improvements based on their impact and feasibility.

Execute: Our team implements the accessibility improvements using proven methodologies and systematic processes. We prioritize owned solutions, ensuring you maintain control over your website’s accessibility.

+1 Optimize: We continuously monitor and refine your website’s accessibility, ensuring ongoing compliance and improvement. This iterative process allows for continuous growth and adaptation.

Measurable Results and Sustainable Growth

Our approach emphasizes merit-based marketing. We don’t just focus on vanity metrics; we track key performance indicators (KPIs) that demonstrate the impact of accessibility improvements on your business, such as increased user engagement, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction.

By adopting a systematic approach to accessibility, you’re not just complying with regulations; you’re building a more inclusive and profitable business. This aligns with our commitment to community economic development by supporting local businesses to thrive.

Actionable Steps to Improve Your Website Accessibility

Start by conducting a self-assessment using free online tools. Then, prioritize improvements based on impact and feasibility. Consider investing in professional accessibility audits and remediation services to ensure comprehensive coverage.

For help with your website accessibility strategy and implementation, give us a call at 613-777-5001.

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“The Bride”. A an example of an experimental, or concept album project from 2022. Painted in acrylic. (Private collection)

Building Confidence Through Language: A Guide for the Collector

One of the biggest barriers for aspiring art collectors is not a lack of taste, but a lack of confident language. People know what they are drawn to, but they often struggle to articulate the ‘why’ behind their emotional connection. Providing them with a basic vocabulary can be transformative.

By explaining core artistic concepts, we can bridge this gap. An artist’s newsletter or a gallery brochure could break down:

The Architecture of Composition: How lines and shapes lead the eye and create a focal point.
The Emotional Weight of a Color Palette: Why a limited, muted palette feels different from a vibrant, high-contrast one.
The Role of Value in Creating Depth: How the interplay of light and shadow builds a believable world.

It’s like being given a phrasebook in a foreign country; suddenly, you can navigate and connect with more assurance. Consider Edward Hopper, whose stylized realism simplifies scenes to their emotional core. Understanding this allows a collector to explain why the work feels so dreamlike and memorable. This knowledge doesn’t replace the emotional response; it validates it.

The Dialogue Between Feeling and Form

Great art speaks to us on two levels: the immediate, gut-level emotional reaction and the deeper intellectual appreciation. You might feel the perpetual warmth and light in a Monet, which immerses the viewer in the sensory experience of a moment. Conversely, you might sense the rugged, stoic soul of the landscape in a piece by Canada’s Group of Seven, which evokes a feeling of profound solitude.

These feelings are universal, but the ability to discuss why we feel them builds a stronger connection. From a marketing perspective, this education slots perfectly into the buyer’s journey. During the “comparison” phase, an artist who also educates their audience is building a relationship of trust and authority, making the final “decision” more likely.

Conclusion: A Bridge of Shared Understanding

Art, in its purest form, is an act of communication. Whether through the calculated narrative of a storyteller or the freeform expression of a poet, the artist extends an invitation to the viewer. By providing the language to understand this invitation, we empower collectors to move beyond simple preference and into the realm of true appreciation. It transforms a simple transaction into a meaningful connection, where the viewer doesn’t just own a piece of art—they become part of its ongoing story.

About the Author

Jaeson Tanner is a Marketing Thinker at Zero Noise Marketing and a narrative artist once in a blue moon. You can see his work on Instagram at @jaeson_tanner.

What does Accessibility mean in website design?