Despite countless businesses turning their attention toward the online world, digital inaccessibility is still an issue that plagues company websites around the planet, including that of sports-based businesses.
Digital inaccessibility tends to represent exclusion, a lack of optimization, and a failure to capitalize on the immense connectivity and opportunity offered up by the internet, all of which are pretty damming elements for any business wishing to thrive in a competitive environment.
Without knowing what to look for, accessibility can be a difficult subject to unpack. Thankfully, there are ways you can overcome digital inaccessibility and bolster your sports brand’s reach in fairly little time.
1. Utilize Live Captioning Software
It is not just your customers that suffer when you fail to account for accessibility options in business; it is your staff too.
For example, remote meetings can be essential to the communication efforts of an operation. Still, they might not be an accessible format for your staff members for a myriad of reasons unless you introduce some great tools like live captioning software, that is.
Employees who cannot benefit from audio still need to be able to access the information being relayed on remote meetings, and captioning software is a superb way to overcome this potential barrier.
2. Awareness Training
If you do not know what to look out for in terms of accessibility, you might wish to think about undergoing some awareness training to boost your and your employees’ understanding of the subject.
The more you know, the easier it will become to adapt your company to fit the needs of your customers.
3. Conduct an Audit
Is your business easily reachable and optimized for all devices? Does your company website offer alternative accessibility options for those who need them? If you don’t know, it is probably time to conduct an audit.
This can help you identify gaps in your setup and quickly make changes if necessary. There are some tools online that are only a quick Google away, and you may also want to check with your CMS provider, as they should be able to help you out in this area.
4. Follow the Guidelines
There are certainly many guidelines out there when it comes to digital accessibility, so making sure that you comply is vital in keeping your business above board and well received.
To start off with, it is probably worth keeping your eye out for your local laws, as they do tend to differ based on where you are in the world.
In the US, the ADA regulates this fairly heavily, so checking out their requirements and regulations can help you gain a deeper understanding of what to watch out for.
5. Put Accessibility First
It can be difficult to rebuild your company site if you never put accessibility in the foreground of your design efforts.
By putting it first whenever you attempt to expand your digital borders, rather than leaving it to deal with after the fact, you can save yourself from strife in the long run and perhaps overcome digital inaccessibility before you even need to face it, to begin with.
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