Accessibility Design in Health and Fitness Websites

In recent years, the fitness community has taken the digital world by storm and inclusivity has become an increasingly important aspect of health and fitness websites. 

Designing for accessibility is crucial to improving a website's ranking and ensuring its effectiveness. Health and fitness websites have set an example by prioritizing accessibility for people with disabilities. 

In this article, we will explore some of the ways that health and fitness websites are leading the way in designing for accessibility and how you can apply these practices to your own website.

Inclusive Design Practices

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Health and fitness websites are known for prioritizing inclusive design practices that benefit all users. To better understand this, you can check out some of the most accessible and inaccessible websites in this ranking. You'll see that Nike's website, for example, ranks at 98.7% of accessibility. 

What characterizes health and fitness websites when it comes to accessibility?

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Let's dive in! 

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Readable and Understandable Content

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One of the most significant ways in which health and fitness websites achieve accessibility is by making their content readable and understandable. 

They use clear and concise language that is easy to understand and benefits users who may not speak the website's language natively. They provide customization options, allowing users to tailor the website's appearance and functionality to suit their preferences and abilities. 

They use clear and simple language, avoid jargon, and ensure text is always legible by using high-contrast colors and appropriate font sizes. They also provide alternative text for images to reach users with visual impairments.

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Easy-to-Use Navigation

Navigation menus must be consistent and provide clear labels that describe each page's content. This will allow users to find what they're looking for, easily, and without stress. Using breadcrumbs, which allow users to track their location within the site,  and easily return to previously viewed pages makes the user experience even better.

Accessible Video Content

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Video content makes a website accessible to users with hearing impairments. Generally, the video also helps users engage better with content and brands. 

By providing closed captions for videos that convey speech and other relevant sounds, the reach of the content increases. Closed captions also benefit users who may be watching videos in noisy environments or situations where they cannot play audio out loud. 

This allows users to remain on the website without listening to the audio and still understand what the brand is trying to convey.  

Compatibility with Assistive Technologies

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Health and fitness websites make sure that their content is compatible with assistive technologies such as screen readers and speech recognition software. They provide transcripts for audio and video content, and captions for videos, and ensure that their websites are compatible with keyboard-only navigation. They also ensure that their websites meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Accessible Design Choices

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In addition to the above practices, health and fitness websites prioritize accessibility in their design choices. They use color schemes that are high contrast, avoid flashing or moving elements that can trigger seizures, and ensure that links are visually distinguishable. They also avoid using content that may be difficult for people with cognitive disabilities, such as complex animations or flashing images. You can see some helpful examples here to help you with this. 

Health and fitness websites are leading the way in designing for accessibility, and by prioritizing readability, providing easy-to-use navigation, making their content compatible with assistive technologies, and prioritizing accessibility in their design choices, they are ensuring that their content is accessible to all users, regardless of their abilities. 

By following their lead, we can make websites accessible to everyone. By doing so, you will not only provide more value to your users but also increase your website's SEO and ranking.

If you're unsure where to start, we're here to help! At ThreadLink we specialize in creating unique and effective websites. 

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