Accessibility refers to designing products, services, and environments in ways that accommodate as many users as possible, including those with disabilities or limited access to technology, knowledge, and finance. As you might imagine, this can encompass a wide variety of activities, many of which can be scaled up or down according to your goals.
It might initially seem impractical to accommodate every kind of user imaginable. Many business models simply do not allow it. A luxury watch seller, for instance, may not find it helpful to accommodate users with low financial access. Regardless, virtually all businesses can do better when it comes to being more accommodating of their potential customers.
If you have yet to look into accessibility, it’s about time you do. Below are several key updates that will make your business more inclusive, enabling it to reach a more universal audience and shielding it from drastic changes in consumer expectations.
1) Facilitate QR Code Payments In All Channels
Provide QR payment options at your store and on all your online channels to make transactions more seamless for all your customers. While QR codes shouldn’t be your only payment option, having them available will make payments much easier for customers who have problems typing out long strings of numbers for bank and wallet accounts. If you’re targeting local customers, be sure to integrate solutions for QR code payment Philippines-based businesses depend on, like Maya QR.
2) Keep Your Online Store Mobile-Friendly
The vast majority of Filipino consumers access online services via mobile phones. While your website and digital platforms are probably designed on desktop machines, the final output should still be fully responsive and easy to use, even on older smartphones.
3) Optimize Your Website for Screen Readers
Screen readers are apps designed to aid sight-impaired users. Ensure your website is compatible with popular screen readers by using proper HTML tags, alt text for images, and clear site navigation structures.
4) Test Your Site’s Keyboard Navigation
Many desktop users with mobility impairments depend on keyboard navigation instead of mice or trackpads. To accommodate them, make sure all your site elements can be accessed using the tab and arrow keys. This also has the benefit of appealing to power users who prefer the speed and precision of keyboard navigation.
5) Test Your Site and Outdoor Sign Text Readability
Whether online or offline, all customer-facing text must be tested to ensure adequate contrast and legibility. If you lack graphic design experience, work with a designer to pick legible fonts and other text options to accommodate users with visual impairments, including color blindness.
6) Provide Transcripts for Videos
All video content must include captions and transcripts to assist users who are hard of hearing. This will also make your videos useful to users who cannot access headphones or turn up the sound on their devices. Automatic transcription technology has gone a long way, but you may want to engage with professional human transcriptionists if you are producing videos at scale.
7) Keep Your Online Forms Simple
Keep online forms concise—just one page or less, if possible. Use clear, unambiguous labels for each field and enable auto-fill options to improve accessibility for all your users. As a bonus, you should see more form completions among users of all kinds.
8) Offer Multiple Contact Channels
Not every customer is equally at ease with all forms of communication technology. For that reason, you’ll want to go beyond chat and social media and provide phone and email support for customers who are more familiar with those. If warranted and if there is a demand for it, offer in-person support.
9) Enable Voice Search and Commands
Optimizing your site for voice search not only caters to users with limited mobility, but also makes your business more searchable among the growing number of hands-free users. If you have a physical store, being searchable on voice can make it much easier for customers on the road to find your location.
10) Make Your Physical Spaces Inclusive
If you have a physical store or office, at the minimum you want to make sure that there are accessible restrooms as well as reasonable wheelchair access. Consider setting up persons with disability (PWD) parking or priority if you have room.
11) Use Plain Language
Technical jargon is probably one of the biggest barriers to accessibility. You can have all the features we’ve mentioned so far and it will all be for nothing if your content is alien to your customers. Know your customers and use the kind of language they use so that your offerings are easy to understand.
12) Ask for Feedback on Accessibility Issues
Who better to inform you about accessibility than your own customers? Let customers know that you’re on the lookout for feedback on how to improve everyone’s experience. Take all this feedback seriously, as it may also unlock insights into other areas of your business’s customer service.
13) Train Employees on Accessibility Best Practices
Lastly, educate staff on how to create an inclusive customer service culture. Go beyond simply training them on how to assist PWDs and consider their perspectives as customers. The empathy they learn can seep into other areas of customer service, improving sales and loyalty.
Accessibility Can Be Your Competitive Advantage
Catering solely to the lowest common denominator might seem efficient, but it is ultimately a limiting factor in your growth. Wide segments of Philippine society have legitimate mobility and cognitive issues that effectively exclude them from both offline and digital experiences. Prioritizing accessibility should, therefore, be seen as a critical way of engaging with wider audiences and not just something you do to tick off a “social responsibility” box.
Indeed, improving accessibility is not just about compliance but about creating a better experience for all your customers. Importantly, accessibility is not just for disabled users; it also gives everyone else more ways to engage with you.
As discussed, many users of accessibility features aren’t necessarily disabled, but they simply prefer them in practice. This just goes to show: the more barriers you remove, the more opportunities you create for your customers and business.
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