Usability and Accessibility are two different things, but when used together they can make a post all the better.

What is Usability?

Usability can be defined as how efficient and satisfying a product or service is for a customer. Basically how easy it is to use your website. If your website has poorly written content or confusing navigation that could frustrate users and drive them away. 

Principles of Usability to follow.

Learnability.  How quickly and easily can a customer learn to use your website?

Efficiency. Can a customer use your website without much effort?

Error Prevention and Recovery. Can users avoid mistakes or correct them easily?

Satisfaction. Is the user experience happy and stress free?

These are just some of the ways you can make Usability more prevalent in your website.

What is Accessibility?

Accessibility reduces the barriers to those with disabilities to be able to access your website.  The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) describes web accessibility as the ability of persons with disabilities to comprehend, navigate, engage, and contribute to the web. (Joyner, 2022)

There are many different ways that someone with disabilities would need accessibility for your website. It’s about equal opportunity.

A user with low vision my rely on a screen reader to navigate your site.

Someone with motor impairments use only a keyboard, not a mouse.

A person with hearing loss may require captions to access video content.  

Usability focuses on user-friendly characteristics and Accessibility helps expand on user-friendly characteristics by responding to the needs of those with disabilities.

Ways that Usability and Accessibility overlap.

Many accessibility features improve usability for everyone, not just those with disabilities. Here are some of the ways they work hand in hand.

High-Contrast Text. This helps those with visual impairments and those using devices in bright light.

Closed captions. This assists those that are deaf or hard of hearing, but it also helps users watching video without sound.

Clear and consistent navigation. This benefits screen readers, people with cognitive disabilities, and anyone that is new to your site.

Making your website accessible will result in a better experience for all.

How to test for Accessibility and Usability.

Testing your website is important and effective. It makes sure that you meet both technical accessibility standards and real-world usability expectations.  Here are some ways that you can test for both of these things.

Accessibility Testing

Automated tools: Axe, WAVE, Lighthouse

Manual methods: Keyboard-only navigation, screen reader testing (NVDA, JAWS)

Compliance checks: WCAG 2.1 / 2.2 guidelines

Usability Testing

User observations: Watch how people navigate your product.

Surveys & interviews: Ask users what worked—and what didn’t.

A/B testing: Test design variations to see which performs better.

Analytics tools: Use Hotjar, Crazy Egg, or Google Analytics to track user behavior. (Accessibility Innovations Inc, n.d.)

By using both Usability and Accessibility your company can know that your website is legally compliant, user-friendly, inclusive and trustworthy. Accessibility makes sure that people with disabilities can use your website while Usability makes sure that the website is enjoyable and easy to use for all.

Works Cited

Accessibility Innovations Inc. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://accessibilityinnovations.com/blogs/usability-vs-accessibility/

Joyner, J. (2022, November 24). accessibility.com. Retrieved from https://www.accessibility.com/blog/whats-the-difference-between-usability-and-accessibility