Engagement starts with accessibility

What is accessibility and who does it serve?

Web accessibility ensures that your website works for everyone, including the 1.3+ billion people globally who live with a disability. This includes: 

• Visual impairments (e.g., blindness, low vision, color blindness)
• Hearing loss (partial or full)
• Motor challenges (e.g., limited mobility, tremors)
• Cognitive differences  (e.g., ADHD, dyslexia, memory limitations)

But accessible design doesn’t stop there. It helps people on slow internet connections, those using voice commands, or folks navigating with one hand on a mobile device. In short, accessibility benefits everyone.

Pro Tip: Designing with accessibility in mind often improves SEO, reduces bounce rates, and increases time on site.

Disability in a post-COVID world

Since the onset of COVID-19, disability has become an increasingly visible part of our population. More people are navigating long-term symptoms and chronic conditions that directly impact how they interact with the digital world.

In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that over 33 million Americans over the age of 16 now live with a disability—an increase of nearly 4 million in just five years.

Not all of this growth is attributed to COVID, but the pandemic has undeniably expanded the number of people living with fatigue, cognitive changes, or mobility challenges—many for the first time.

What does this mean for your organization? The audience you serve has changed and your digital spaces need to reflect that.

Designing accessible and inclusive experiences isn't just future-proofing, it's responding with empathy and intention to the world we’re now living in.

What is the cost of inaccessibility?

Lost trust and lost revenue. If your website is difficult to use, people leave silently. According to the Click-Away Pound Report (UK, 2016): 

69% of disabled users will leave a website if it’s hard to use. 

In the U.K. alone, this behavior results in £17.1 billion in lost online retail revenue annually. The impact is global and preventable.

For businesses and nonprofits alike, poor accessibility undermines your credibility. People want to engage with brands that reflect their values:

81% of consumers prefer to support inclusive brands..

For nonprofits and mission-driven orgs, inaccessibility contradicts the very message you’re trying to share.

Accessibility as a strategic advantage

Accessible design isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s a smart strategy. Accessible websites:

• Load faster
• Work better on all devices
• Improve navigation for every user
• Make content easier to read, understand, and act on

That means more people can complete key actions like signing up, donating, purchasing, or reaching out.

At Avidano, we’ve seen firsthand how accessibility upgrades reduce tech support requests and increase user satisfaction, especially for organizations working with multilingual and multi-generational audiences.

We help organizations build better digital experiences that reflect their mission and values while ensuring access for all.