The Importance of Making

Your Website more Accessible

In our rapidly evolving digital age, where websites serve as gateways to information, products, and services, it’s essential that we don’t leave anyone behind. Ensuring that your website is accessible to those with certain disabilities is about embracing inclusivity and expanding your reach to a broader audience.

Accessibility tools provide the ability to change saturation, fonts, colors, initiate a screen reader, make the text and cursor larger, and many more features that all come in the integration of this important integration.

In addition, the features provide –

Equal Access for All: One of the core principles behind the ADA is to provide equal access to individuals with disabilities. By making your website easier to navigate for those with additional needs, you’re taking a significant step towards ensuring that everyone, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can access and benefit from your online content.

Legal Compliance: The ADA mandates that public accommodations must be accessible to all individuals. Non-compliance can lead to legal troubles and costly lawsuits. Ensuring your website’s accessibility is not just a proactive step but could result in a legal issue if someone were to bring it up.

An Expanded Audience: When your website is more accessible, you open the doors to a wider audience. Millions of people with disabilities can access your content, products, and services. This can lead to increased traffic, more customers, and potentially higher revenue.

Improved SEO: Accessibility often goes hand in hand with good SEO practices. Search engines favor websites that are accessible to all, and this can lead to better rankings. So, in addition to reaching a broader audience, you’re also boosting your website’s visibility in search engine results.

Enhanced Reputation: These features added to your site showcases your commitment to social responsibility. This can significantly enhance your brand’s reputation. Customers are more likely to trust and support businesses that prioritize inclusivity.

Better User Experience: Increased Accessibility is often more user-friendly for all visitors. When you design with accessibility in mind, you streamline navigation and improve the overall user experience. This can benefit everyone, not just those with disabilities.

Future-Proofing: As technology evolves, so do the expectations of website accessibility. By making your website better today, you’re future-proofing it against changing regulations and standards. This saves you time and resources in the long run.

Reaching Global Standards: The importance of these features is not limited to the United States. Many countries have their own accessibility regulations, and international standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are widely adopted. By adhering to these global standards, you can tap into a global audience.

Making your website more accessible isn’t just about checking off a legal requirement; it’s about embracing inclusivity and serving a diverse audience. It’s a step towards a more accessible and equitable digital world. At Engine Web Development, we can  help you take the steps to make your website more welcoming to everyone, regardless of their abilities. This is still a somewhat, “gray” area in legal terms but the ADA does require public platforms to be accessible to all (read more at https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-guidance/). By adding the plugin needed for these features you are possibly protecting your business but also contributing to a more inclusive and accessible digital landscape.

 Reach out today by filling out our contact form below, or email us at info@runengine.com for information to take this important step for your site.  You can also see these features here by looking in the corner for the accessibility icon.

In addition to a regular maintenance update package we also can provide services for:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): We can help implement SEO best practices, such as updating meta tags, optimizing images for SEO, and ensuring mobile responsiveness – all of which contribute to higher search engine rankings.

Analytics and Monitoring: Tracking and monitoring services to keep an eye on website traffic, user behavior, and other key metrics. This data helps in making informed decisions for improvements.

Reputation management:  We can do the monitoring, influencing, and maintaining the perception of an individual, business, brand, or organization in the online space. The goal of online reputation management is to shape a positive online image, address negative content, and manage how an entity is perceived by internet users.

Monthly Maintenance Contract: We have several companies that pay a monthly retainer and we go in and perform all updates regularly to keep your site running well all of the time.

Hosting: We offer hosting for your site. If you are paying a fee through a hosting platform you will not get the support should something go wrong. Our hosting clients get our full attention when a website goes down and our contract with hosting partners allows us higher level support representatives that we work with directly so you do not have to.

This list could keep going. Whatever your needs, please reach out to us today and we can assist with all of the things you do not want to think about.

Let us do what we do best so you can do what you do best!

What STOPS People from Exploring Your Website? 

THE BIG FOUR

• Difficult Navigation: Can people find what they came to the website to find? Do they need to search for what you do, who you are, where to find you, how to utilize your business? Make sure the menu bars are clear and the tools on the site (maps, order forms, product and service information, etc) are easy to use and are still functional. Tools change all of the time – make sure your site is up to date and working well.
• Lack of Responsiveness on all Devices:  Responsiveness in a website is demonstrated through its ability to adapt and optimize content across various devices and screen sizes. A responsive website dynamically adjusts elements like text, images, and layouts, ensuring they remain visually appealing and user-friendly on everything from desktop computers to smartphones and tablets. This adaptability is achieved through coding techniques like media queries and flexible design frameworks. A responsive website seamlessly reorganizes its components, maintaining a consistent and engaging user experience regardless of the device being used to access it.
• Slow Load Time: Load time is critical for websites as it directly impacts user experience. A fast-loading site keeps visitors engaged, reduces bounce rates, and enhances overall satisfaction. Moreover, search engines prioritize fast-loading sites, leading to better search rankings and increased online visibility.
• Lack of Professional and Responsive Design: A visually appealing design captures visitors’ attention and establishes a positive first impression, reflecting the brand’s identity and values. The feel and features can optimize the user journey, enhancing engagement and conversions through intuitive layouts and aesthetic elements. And, it’s all got to work together.

We are excited to announce the transfer of ownership of Engine Web Development & Marketing to Jesper Dinesen. This new ownership of the company took effect July 1, 2023.

In 2005, Jesper started the company that is now known as Engine and has continued to head the development for the past 18 years. Ownership was transferred to a business group in 2012 to promote opportunities for growth. Jesper is the person that you have all come to know over the years and he will continue to lead his company with the same focus on personal relationships, service and professionalism to all of you that he has shown since the beginning.

The Engine team will remain unchanged. Claire, Nate, Robert and Jesper will continue to be your go-to squad for Engine and we are excited that everyone has been so supportive of this transition and are dedicated to the success of our clients.

What does this change mean for you? Please update your records to reflect our new mailing address: Engine PO Box 141485, Grand Rapids, MI 49514.

We have some new goals for the future and our focus will remain the success of our clients. Thank you in advance for your support.

Sincerely,

Engine Web Development & Marketing