In this blog, we introduce you to the POUR design principles that can transform your online space. Embracing these standards will empower all of your site visitors to see, use, and understand your platform on any device or software they rely upon.
The need for digital accessibility
We live in a digitally-focused world, relying on the web daily for information, education, shopping, entertainment, healthcare, finance and more. However, only 3% of these sites are actually accessible, stripping people of their independence and human rights. With over one billion people (equating to 1 in 6 of us) having a disability, this requires drastic change.
Designing websites, apps, and digital tools to be inclusive, means that disabled people can use them equally and as effectively as someone without a disability.
Beyond this, accessibly-built platforms also support:
- The elderly.
- People with temporary disabilities, such as a broken arm.
- Situational limitations, such as someone in loud and busy surroundings.
An accessible site has the user experience at its core, benefitting everyone.
Building accessibility with the POUR principles
Originating from Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the POUR principles stands for Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. This is a framework to work alongside that puts people at the centre of the design process. Undertaking this user-focused approach is the most effective way of achieving a digital space that places accessibility and usability at the forefront for all online visitors. In turn, giving everyone the independence to freely access information, resources, and services; creating an equitable digital world.
Think of the principles like building blocks. The only way to construct a digital experience that is accessible for people with diverse abilities, including people with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities, is forming a solid foundation with all four blocks.
For example, if you were building a house:
- Perceivable: A house needs doors and windows for people so people can enter and see clearly when inside. A website’s content, such as alt text or captions on videos, ensures all users “see” the same content through being provided with context. Not leaving users locked outside.
- Operable: A house is not liveable if you can’t move around inside. Similarly, on a website, people need to navigate and use all controls. Enabling someone to use a keyboard instead of a mouse is the equivalent to building a ramp in a house or installing a stairlift.
- Understandable: Imagine if a house had hallways that led nowhere, with hidden doors or mislabelled rooms – guests would find this very confusing and frustrating. Providing clear content, instructions, and navigation is like a clear floor plan, so no one gets lost.
- Robust: You want your house to stand firm even if you make alterations or renovations. A strong structure with clean code and working to web standards ensures your site will work across varying browsers, devices, and assistive technologies and adapt to future needs.
When all four blocks are in place, you don’t just have a house, you have a welcoming and accessible home, with an environment that is built for everyone.
Making your website content perceivable
The first step to creating an accessible platform is by making a site perceivable. By doing so, you will be ensuring all of your users will be able to recognise and use your online services with the senses that are available to them, such as through sight, hearing, or touch.
Some steps to achieve this could be through presenting:
- Text alternatives for non-text content. For example with images, infographics, charts, podcasts, or labels for controls.
- Captions and transcripts with videos and multimedia to support users who cannot see or hear this content.
- Content in different ways to meet unique user needs, such as enabling text to be enlarged, read aloud by a screen reader, or using custom text sizes.
- Content that is easy to both see and hear. This could be achieved through checking items like colour contrasts are at a sufficient level, media can be paused and volume levels may be adjusted, or a platform can be zoomed into without altering spacing or losing information due to text overlapping.
Creating an operable navigation and user interface
Your audience needs to be able to operate your site easily, no matter what form of technology they use. This is why WCAG’s second principle is to make sure that users can find and operate your content.
This entails ensuring users:
- Can access a website using only a keyboard. This includes being able to control all functions, complete actions, and use other interface components.
- Have enough time on web pages to digest information and complete actions. Therefore, page timeouts should be extended or removed.
- Are protected online who are photosensitive. This can be achieved by making sure content does not flash more than three times in any one-second period and is not below the general flash and red flash thresholds. If content is present that may harm users, a warning should be placed prior.
- Can easily navigate a site and find relevant content by providing items such as skip to links, visible keyboard focus states, structured heading levels, descriptive link text, and guiding the user through clear call to actions.
- Can use different input methods than purely a keyboard, such as voice recognition or touch activation.
Providing information that is simple to understand and digest
Users need to be able to easily read, understand, and digest your content.
To help meet this requirement your content should:
- Be written in plain language, avoiding using complex terminology, acronyms, or idioms. This can assist users with learning disabilities and ensure content is read aloud accurately on text-to-speech software.
- Appear and operate in a predictable way. You can build familiarity by implementing consistent navigation and layouts sitewide, providing logical process steps, or if user interface components are repeated on web pages, using the same labels each time.
- Assist users when completing actions. By providing descriptive instructions, supportive error messages, and allowing the users to review content before submission, can ease the process and avoid mistakes being made.
Maximising compatibility through robust website and application builds
The final WCAG principle is to ensure that your website is robust. This means that platforms are built in a way that is compatible with different current and future technologies. This includes not only working on varying browsers and screen sizes, but also fluently with assistive technologies and other user agents.
This can be achieved through:
- Using semantic HTML.
- Ensuring markup can be reliably interpreted, for instance by ensuring it is valid.
- Providing a name, role, and value for non-standard user interface components.
Pour accessibility into your website
In this modern day, with all the technology that we have at our fingertips, there is no reason for a website to be inaccessible. Standards are even in place, such as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the design principles they are based upon, to guide people step-by-step on how to achieve this end result.
Alternatively, there are accessibility experts, like our team, who can either undertake the work on your behalf or show your in-house development teams what is needed to build an inclusive platform. Then all of your online audience can Perceive, Operate and Understand your content, on a Robust and intuitive platform.
Take a free test today and find out your website’s level of accessibility.
