Divi Theme Accessibility: 7 Ways to Improve Website Accessibility

Table

1. Perceivable

Perceivability is an important aspect of website accessibility. It ensures that all users, including those with visual or hearing impairments, can perceive and understand the content on the website.

Text Alternatives

One way to improve perceivability is by providing text alternatives for non-text content. This includes images, videos, and audio files. By adding alt text to images and captions or transcripts to videos and audio files, users with visual or hearing impairments can understand the content even if they can't see or hear it.

Time-based Media Alternatives

Another important aspect of perceivability is providing alternatives for time-based media. This includes providing captions or transcripts for videos and audio files. This allows users with hearing impairments to understand the content of the media.

Easy-to-See and Hear Content

Lastly, it's important to ensure that the content on the website is easy to see and hear. This includes using high contrast colors for text and background, using large and legible fonts, and providing options to increase the font size. For users with hearing impairments, it's important to provide options for adjusting the volume or providing transcripts for audio content.

2. Operable

Operability refers to the ease with which users can navigate and interact with the website. It's important to ensure that all users, including those with mobility impairments, can navigate and interact with the website using only a keyboard.

Keyboard Accessibility

To improve keyboard accessibility, it's important to ensure that all interactive elements on the website, such as buttons and links, can be accessed and activated using only a keyboard. This includes providing keyboard focus indicators and ensuring that the tab order follows a logical sequence.

Adjustable Time Limits

Some users may require more time to read or interact with the content on the website. It's important to provide options to adjust or disable any time limits that may be present on the website. This ensures that users with cognitive or motor impairments have enough time to complete tasks without feeling rushed.

Clear Navigation

Clear and intuitive navigation is essential for all users, especially those with cognitive impairments. It's important to provide clear labels for navigation links, use descriptive headings, and provide a consistent layout throughout the website. This helps users understand the structure of the website and easily navigate to the desired content.

3. Understandable

Understandability refers to the ease with which users can understand the content and functionality of the website. It's important to ensure that all users, including those with cognitive impairments, can understand and interact with the website.

Readable and Clear Content

One way to improve understandability is by providing readable and clear content. This includes using plain language, avoiding jargon or complex terminology, and breaking up content into smaller, easily digestible chunks. It's also important to use headings and subheadings to organize the content and make it easier to navigate.

Expected Web Page Behavior

Users with cognitive impairments may have difficulty understanding unexpected or unpredictable web page behavior. It's important to ensure that the website behaves in a consistent and predictable manner. This includes providing clear error messages, using standard form controls, and avoiding any unexpected changes in layout or functionality.

Input Assistance

Providing input assistance can greatly improve the understandability of the website. This includes providing clear instructions and examples for form fields, using error validation to help users correct any mistakes, and providing suggestions or auto-complete options for input fields. This helps users understand what is expected of them and reduces the likelihood of errors.

4. Robust

Robustness refers to the ability of the website to work well with different assistive technologies, such as screen readers or braille displays. It's important to ensure that the website is compatible with a wide range of assistive technologies.

Compatibility with Assistive Technologies

To improve robustness, it's important to test the website with different assistive technologies and ensure that all functionality is accessible. This includes using semantic HTML markup, providing alternative text for images, and ensuring that all interactive elements can be accessed and activated using assistive technologies.

Use of WP Accessibility Plugin

The WP Accessibility plugin is a powerful tool that can help improve the accessibility of a Divi website. It provides a range of features, such as adding skip links, improving keyboard navigation, and ensuring that all form fields have labels. By using this plugin, you can easily enhance the accessibility of your Divi website.

5. Accessibility-Ready Theme

Using an "Accessibility-Ready" theme is another way to improve the accessibility of your Divi website. These themes are specifically designed to meet the accessibility guidelines and include features that make it easier to create an accessible website. Look for themes that have been tested for accessibility and include features such as high contrast options, keyboard navigation enhancements, and built-in accessibility tools.

6. Plugins for Perceivable Accessibility

There are several plugins available that can help improve the perceivability of your Divi website. These plugins provide features such as text-to-speech functionality, image optimization, and accessibility widgets.

Accessibility Widget

The Accessibility Widget plugin adds a floating widget to your website that allows users to easily adjust the font size, change the contrast, and enable text-to-speech functionality. This plugin provides a simple and effective way to improve the perceivability of your website.

GSpeech

The GSpeech plugin adds text-to-speech functionality to your website. This allows users to have the content of your website read out loud to them, making it easier for users with visual impairments to access the information on your website.

SEO Friendly Images

The SEO Friendly Images plugin automatically adds alt text to your images based on the image file name or post title. This ensures that all images on your website have descriptive alt text, making them accessible to users with visual impairments.

7. Plugins for Operable and Understandable Accessibility

There are also plugins available that can help improve the operability and understandability of your Divi website. These plugins provide features such as accessible dropdown menus, keyboard shortcuts, and tooltips.

Accessible Dropdown Menus

The Accessible Dropdown Menus plugin improves the accessibility of your website's dropdown menus. It ensures that the menus can be easily navigated using a keyboard and that all menu items are accessible to screen readers.

Accessibility Access Keys

The Accessibility Access Keys plugin allows you to add keyboard shortcuts to your website. This makes it easier for users with mobility impairments to navigate and interact with your website using only a keyboard.

CM Tooltip Glossary

The CM Tooltip Glossary plugin allows you to create a glossary of terms on your website. This provides users with definitions and explanations of key terms, making the content more understandable and accessible to all users.

Submittable

The Submittable plugin improves the accessibility of your website's forms. It provides features such as error validation, clear instructions, and accessible form fields, making it easier for users with cognitive or motor impairments to complete and submit forms on your website.

By following these 7 ways to improve website accessibility, you can ensure that your Divi website is accessible to all users, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. By making your website perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust, you can provide an inclusive and accessible experience for all users.

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