Website Useability

Making usable websites and applications for people with learning difficulties affects every part of the process of website design for disabled users. Traditionally we have focussed on making websites accessible for people with sensor and physical impairments and have overlooked computer accessibility for disabled users. Sometimes we even go as far as creating websites that create barriers for people with cognitive and learning disabilities.

Please note that people with learning disabilities may also have other impairments so it is always important to check the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines available at w3.org

Use icons, symbols, terms, and design patterns that are already familiar to users. People with cognitive and learning disabilities often need common behavior and design patterns. For example, use the standard convention for hyperlinks underlined and blue for unvisited; purple for visited.

Help users find what they need.

Make your navigation easy and clear to use. A clear and easy-to-follow layout with visual cues, such as icons. Clear headings, boundaries, and regions also help people understand the page design.

Use clear content

Easy words with no jargon, short sentences and blocks of text, clear images, and easy to understand video.

Help users avoid mistakes.

Mistakes are less likely to occur with good design and when an error does happen it should be easy for the user to correct.

Help user focus

Avoid distracting the user from their tasks. If the user does get distracted, headings and breadcrumbs can help orientate the user and help the user restore the context when it is lost. Providing linked breadcrumbs can help the user undo mistakes.

Provide help and support.

If users have difficulty sending feedback, then you will never know if they are able to use the content or when they are experiencing problems. The online chat will make it easy to get human help.

Test with real users!

Choosing images and using the correct words as well as not making the website too complex are all things to consider when designing a website with cognitive and learning disabilities in mind but really testing with users is the only way to measure your design’s accessibility.

For more information, w3.org has a number of comprehensive articles on the subject of accessibility – click here