Improve the accessibility of your website
A website has many benefits for any business, one of the biggest being that you can reach people anytime, anywhere. You can let audiences around the world know about your latest product or update. Or you can share your latest work with your customers. However, there may be customers or visitors who can't fully use your website due to visual issues or similar limitations. Your job as a webmaster, of course, is to make the site as accessible as possible for everyone. In this blog post, we'll look at what steps you can take to achieve this.
Create podcast versions of your articles
Podcast versions of existing articles are one way to make your content accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. Podcast versions of your previous content allow you to retell the story in a dynamic way and ensure that this audience can use your website or business.
You can publish a podcast version in many different ways. It doesn't always have to be studio quality either, most phones today already have a decent microphone that is great for such purposes. Using a podcast app or your standard voice memo app, you can then easily record an audio version of your article and publish it to your website. Hosting the audio files themselves can be done in a number of ways, of course. But content management systems like WordPress already have standard functionality for this purpose. Simply place an audio player at the top of the article or in some other conspicuous place. Don't forget to include the metatext in the source so that it can be read aloud by the computer voice. Otherwise, it may be overlooked.
Not only can you put the audio-only file on the source, but you can also use different podcast apps or platforms. Here, you can get a nicer audio player on the website where there is also an option to subscribe and more. So this can be a good thing if you want to do multiple podcasts.
Introductory videos or introductory story
On the homepage itself or your general landing pages, you can also use videos or an audio fragment as an introduction. A video can be used by anyone, of course. Provided you also consider the visual factor. An introductory video or audio fragment can briefly explain what your business or website does, who it is for, and what problem you can solve for them. You can do this as professionally as you like and keep it informal or outsource it to an agency.
Of course, you know best what needs to be in your introduction, so always try to monitor this, even if you outsource it. A video can be placed prominently on the page, and an audio fragment option can of course be placed almost anywhere. If you can put this at the top, it's more likely to be read by software. Again, don't forget to complete the meta description for both of these elements.
The voice of the Netherlands
The computer voice available to the visually impaired has remained unchanged for 20 years, and the various software tools available for this audience often do not have the most pleasant voice. There is a party called Voice of the Netherlands that is working to improve and address this. I found out about it through SIDN, as it is one of the projects they are funding. Want to read more or hear what exactly this project is trying to achieve and improve?
Visit the link below: https://www.stemvannederland.com/ And listen to the podcast or read the article!
